Page 7 of (Un)Rivaled

I stared at Devyn, unsure what the hell was happening. This girl, seemingly made of Teflon, was breaking down in front of me, and I didn’t have a single clue why.

But for the first time in my life, instead of taking the opportunity to get as far away from Devyn as possible, I plopped down next to her. We sat in silence for a while, not knowing how to even really talk to each other without trying to hurt the other’s feelings.

I glanced over at her bare hands, her fingers still clutched around the pencil. “You should have gloves on. The wind on the lake gets really cold.”

“I know that.”

I sighed, dropping my elbows onto my knees. “I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. We have some extra pairs at home if you need some.”

Devyn turned toward me, studying my profile. I forced myself to keep my eyes forward, not sure if I’d like what I found if I looked back at her.

Eventually, she let out a dry laugh. “I can’t believe you’re still trying to scare me.”

“Gonna get you one of these days,” I said, letting go of some of my annoyance toward Devyn. Maybe it was because I knew how it felt to feel raw, or it was because I hated the idea of kicking her while she was down, but either way, teasing Devyn didn’t seem right.

She chuckled and reached out to push me off therock. Instead, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her in a little closer. Her deep, brown eyes widened when I held her, and for the first time, I noticed the different shades that made up the color. For as long as I could remember, I teased her that her eyes were like mud—nothing special at all about them. But now, I realized I was wrong. There was nothing flat or boring about the color. it was more like the mountains on clear summer mornings.

As soon as Devyn balanced herself on the rock, I dropped her hand, giving us some much-needed space. What the hell was in the air today? Why did I notice all these things about Devyn so suddenly?

“Why are you being nice to me, Grayson?”

“Told you not to call me that.” I smirked to avoid her question. “How do you like it when I call you Devy?”

She shuddered, returning to the sketchpad draped across her lap. “That’s not my name, but Grayson is yours. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Still don’t like it,” I grumbled, messing with the ends of my hair.

She scowled up at my movements, tapping the brim of my hat with her fingers. “Are you going to keep growing it out?”

“Yeah. Gonna see how long it takes my mom to snap.” I smirked, shoving my long hair away from my eyes. A couple of months ago, Mom declared I was old enough to decide how I wanted to style my hair, a choice she was starting to regret more and more each day. Now that it was almost past my shoulders, she liked to make comments at the dinner table, asking if I thought it was time to try something new.

Devyn pursed her lips then nodded, more to herself than to me. As her thumb danced through the last linesshe’d drawn, I couldn’t help but watch, mesmerized by each swipe. “Why’re you doing that?”

Devyn frowned to herself, “I’m trying to make the shadows, but I can’t get them right.” Her voice cracked a little again, and she exhaled, as if trying to push all those emotions away. “David, my mom’s new boyfriend, says my sketches lack depth, and I need to play more with dimension if I want to get taken seriously.”

I laughed, but Devyn’s face only tightened. “Wait…you’re not kidding?”

She slammed the lid of the book closed, crossing her arms around her chest. Her eyes narrowed at me. “No, I wasn’t. Why would I joke about my weakness?”

“Because you’re in, what? Sixth grade?”

“Yup, same as you.”

“Exactly,” I chuckled, taking the pad from her hands. I thumbed through the pages, hoping she couldn’t read the amazement in my eyes. Because hell, this girl was talented, more than I’d ever want to admit. But when I looked up at her, gone was the know-it-all-all who usually bugged me to no end. Instead, her lips rolled together, watching as I looked at each sketch. I closed the book and held it out to her. “He’s an idiot.”

Devyn barked out a laugh, and her face transformed. She looked nicer, softer.Prettier.She shook her head as she clutched her book against her chest. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Davidknowsart. He is an–”

“Idiot,” I finished for her. I shifted the book so the front cover was visible. She’d sketched a woman crying, but her tears had transformed into a river, life growing out of her pain. “And probably jealous. You’re just a kid, and he hates that you’re already so talented.”

“You think?” she asked, her puffy pink lips turning up at the sides.

“Hell yeah, Devy.” I knocked her on the shoulder. “Gonna see your name up in lights one day. Get to tell everyone I knew you before you were famous.”

“Yeah, right,” Devyn chuckled as she settled on the rock next to me again, her leg bumping into mine. Despite the shivering temperature, heat rushed through me at the gentle touch. She nudged me with her elbow. “And what about you, Grayson? Where will you be?”

“Don’t know,” I said. “But I’m going to be somewhere far away from here, playing baseball, that’s for sure.” I laughed as I looked at her. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll even be friends when we’re old.”

“Yeah, right,” Devyn snorted. “Like you’d ever want to be friends with the ‘most annoying girl on the planet’?”

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