The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 259: Chapter 259 - Everybody But You

By first period the next morning, Roxie had already decided she was done being the only one miserable.

She had barely slept again. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered Zac standing in the living room with that duffel, taking his charger, his clothes, his toothbrush and everything else he had slowly left in the bungalow because at some point he had practically been living there. Then she would remember him walking out with all of it.

By the time she sat down in AP Chemistry, she was tired, pissed off and already annoyed because Zac was acting like she barely existed.

Usually he sat close enough that she could feel him before she even looked at him. He would drag his chair toward hers, whisper something stupid while Mr. Callahan was talking, touch the back of her hand or brush his fingers against her neck just to annoy her. Now his chair stayed exactly where it belonged, and Zac sat with Mason nearby, notebook open and eyes mostly on the board.

Roxie hated it.

She kept trying to pay attention to whatever Mr. Callahan was explaining, but every few minutes her eyes moved toward Zac without permission. He looked tired. His hair was still a little messy, and the scratches on his arm had started fading, but she could still see them.

He barely looked at her.

Mr. Callahan stopped writing and glanced between them. ”Prescott, Jones. You two finally discover silence?”

A few people laughed.

Roxie leaned back in her chair. ”Apparently he finally learned how to shut up.”

More people laughed, and normally Zac would have answered immediately. Instead, the corner of his mouth moved slightly before he looked back down at his notebook.

Roxie stared at him.

Asshole.

Mr. Callahan continued talking, and Roxie forced herself to look at the worksheet in front of her. A few minutes later, the boy sitting behind her leaned forward and tapped the edge of her paper.

”Roxie, what did you get for number four?”

She looked over her shoulder. ”You seriously can’t do that?”

”No.”

”Wow.”

”Help me.”

Roxie sighed and pushed her worksheet back enough for him to see. ”There.”

”Thanks.”

”No problem.”

When she turned around again, she glanced toward Zac and caught him looking at the boy behind her. His eyes moved to Roxie for maybe two seconds before he looked down again.

Roxie faced the front, but a small smile pulled at her mouth.

Well.

That was interesting.

By the time class ended, she had already decided she wanted to see if she could make him do it again.

She walked out with Karen and Angela, and the first boy who held the door open for them got a smile Roxie normally would have saved for somebody she actually liked.

”Thank you.”

The guy smiled back. ”Yeah. Sure.”

Karen stopped walking. ”What was that?”

Roxie looked at her. ”What was what?”

”That thank you.”

Angela laughed. ”Leave her alone.”

Karen looked between them. ”She practically flirted with the door guy.”

”I said thank you. And that guy has a name. Neill.”

”Oh, sorry, Miss Congeniality. I forgot how friendly you are.”

Roxie chuckled and hooked her arm through Karen’s. ”I’m having fun. Just let me, okay?”

Karen snorted. ”Fine. If this blows up in your face, I’ll laugh the loudest.”

Angela hooked her arm through Roxie’s other side. ”Whatever makes her happy.”

”Thank you.”

”You’re welcome.”

Karen looked between them. ”I hate being the only sane person here.”

For the rest of the morning, Roxie became unusually friendly whenever Zac happened to be nearby. Nothing huge. She smiled at boys she normally ignored. She let one guy carry some papers for her instead of telling him she could handle it. Somebody complimented her State performance, and instead of saying thanks and walking away, Roxie stood there and talked to him for a minute.

Angela thought the whole thing was hilarious and encouraged every bit of it. Karen kept looking like she wanted to shake some sense into her.

The important part was that Zac noticed.

Every fucking time.

Sometimes it was only a glance. Other times Roxie caught his eyes staying a little longer when a guy stood close to her. He still never came over, though, and that was starting to annoy her. She knew he was looking. She knew he hated it. Apparently he was still stubborn enough to stay on the other side of the hallway anyway.

Before lunch, Roxie got a message that a delivery had been dropped off for her at the office. She was on the other side of campus, and Mason happened to have a class near there, so naturally she made him get it.

Mason complained through three messages before finally agreeing.

By lunch, Roxie was sitting with Karen, Angela and several of the cheerleaders while pretending she had no interest in the football table.

She had already looked over there enough times for Karen to notice.

”Again.”

Roxie looked at her. ”What?”

”You looked again.”

”At what?”

Karen pointed her fork toward the football table. ”Please. I’m tired.”

Angela took a drink from her bottle. ”Let her look.”

”She’s been looking all morning.”

”So?”

”So she’s making herself insane.”

Roxie stabbed her salad. ”I’m fine.”

Karen laughed. ”Sure.”

Ava looked toward the football table. ”At least there aren’t girls around him today.”

Roxie’s fork stopped for half a second.

Karen caught it immediately, but Roxie glared at her before she could say anything.

Karen raised both hands. ”I didn’t say shit.”

Angela smiled. ”But she was going to.”

”I hate all of you.”

That was when Roxie saw Mason walk into the cafeteria carrying a brown paper bag.

She smiled immediately.

”Mason.”

He stopped and looked toward her.

Roxie waved him over.

Mason stared at her for a second before walking toward the table. The closer he got, the more suspicious he looked.

”Here.” He held out the bag. ”Your delivery.”

Roxie looked at the bag, then at him. ”Open it and give it to me.”

Mason stared at her. ”No.”

Angela started laughing immediately.

Karen looked at Roxie. ”Why does that sound like a setup?”

”It isn’t.”

Mason shook his head. ”Yeah, no.”

”Mason.”

”Take the bag.”

”Open it.”

”No.”

Roxie leaned back in her chair and gave him a look. ”Seriously? After all the shit I’ve helped you with?”

Mason narrowed his eyes. ”That right there makes me trust you even less.”

Angela laughed harder.

Roxie held out her hand. ”Come on. One favor.”

”You already made me walk across campus for this.”

”And I appreciate you.”

”No, you don’t.”

”I do.”

”Then take the fucking bag.”

”Mason.”

He stared at her for another second before sighing. ”Fine.”

Mason opened the bag and reached inside. The second he pulled out the bouquet, his eyes widened and the paper bag slipped from his other hand.

”Oh, fuck you.”

Roxie quickly took the flowers from him as the bag dropped to the floor. Mason froze, staring at the bouquet now sitting in her hands like he had only just realized exactly what she had made him do.

Roxie smiled brightly at him.

”Thank you, Mason.”

She said it loud enough for the nearby tables to hear.

Angela burst out laughing while Karen slowly looked down at her lunch like she wanted everybody to know she had no involvement in this.

Mason stared at Roxie. ”You fucking bitch. If I die, I’m taking you with me.”

Roxie looked down at the bouquet. ”They’re pretty.”

Several people around them were already looking over.

Karen stared at Roxie. ”You are actually insane.”

Mason turned toward the football table, shaking his head, and Roxie followed his eyes.

Zac was staring at him.

Then his gaze moved to the flowers in Roxie’s hands before finally landing on her.

Her heart gave one hard beat.

Roxie lifted one of the flowers and smelled it.

Zac’s jaw tightened.

Mason looked back at Roxie. ”I hate you.”

”Thanks again.”

”Stop fucking thanking me.”

He walked away shaking his head.

Angela wiped beneath her eyes. ”That was so fucking good.”

Karen looked at her. ”No, it wasn’t.” She pointed between them. ”I like chaos too, but damn... This is getting bad for you.”

Roxie set the flowers beside her lunch and looked toward Zac again. ”It feels good, though.”

He was talking to Dylan now, or pretending to, and his face had already gone back to normal.

That pissed her off almost immediately.

Seriously?

She had just made it look like Mason handed her flowers in front of half the cafeteria, and all she got was a tight jaw before Zac went right back to ignoring her?

Roxie stabbed a tomato.

The rest of the afternoon passed with Roxie feeling like none of it had been enough. She even thought about calling Ethan and asking him to pick her up after practice. Zac would fucking hate that. Then she remembered the look Ethan had given her the last time she dragged him into one of her fights with Zac and dropped the idea.

Apparently even Roxie had limits.

By the time the final bell rang, she was gathering her things with Karen and Angela when she stepped into the hallway and froze.

Caleb was waiting outside the classroom.

Unfortunately, he had company.

Mike stood beside him with another basketball player.

Caleb looked almost embarrassed the moment he saw Angela. ”I told them not to come.”

Mike grinned. ”We’re going the same direction, right?”

Karen looked at Roxie immediately.

Angela looked from Mike to Roxie and smiled.

Roxie knew exactly what Karen’s face meant. She also knew exactly what Angela’s meant.

She looked at Mike.

She could use him.

Roxie shrugged and started walking. ”Then walk.”

Mike immediately fell into step beside her.

Karen made a noise under her breath while Angela slipped her hand into Caleb’s and followed.

Mike talked almost the entire way to the gym. Roxie caught maybe half of it. Something about Caleb, something about basketball, then something that sounded suspiciously like Mike explaining how great he was or how many girls thought he was good looking.

Roxie gave him a bored glance. ”Do you ever stop talking about yourself?”

Mike grinned. ”You’re listening, though.”

”Barely.”

”That still counts.”

Angela laughed from a few steps behind them.

Karen muttered, ”This is painful.”

Roxie ignored her and kept walking beside Mike.

They were almost at the gym when she noticed Dylan’s car.

Her attention went there immediately.

Dylan was standing beside the driver’s side. Zac was leaning against the passenger side and he was already looking at her.

Roxie barely heard Mike anymore.

Zac’s eyes moved from her face to Mike walking beside her, then back to her. His jaw tightened as they got closer, and this time there was no phone in his hand for him to stare at and pretend he did not care.

Mike said something beside her.

Roxie had no idea what it was.

She smiled anyway because Zac was watching.

His stare sharpened.

For the entire day she had been trying to get something out of him. She had smiled at guys she barely cared about, made Mason hand her flowers in front of half the cafeteria and now had Mike walking beside her like he had somehow won something.

Zac still had not come near her.

But he was looking now.

Really looking.

Hard.

Pissed.

Roxie held his stare as they got closer, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

Bastard.