Chapter Twelve Vaughn
Chapter Twelve
Vaughn
“Can I get a copy of this?” Rowan asks, taking the study guide Lacey made for me and looking it over. “So colorful too. I bet she could sell these.”
“You’re not helping.” I take it back from him. He’s right though. It’s good, really helpful, thorough, and very colorful. “How do I get her to keep helping me?”
He laughs as he opens his locker and pulls out his binder for first period. “I don’t know.”
“Come on. You know Lacey, and everyone likes you. You must have some idea.”
He arches a brow at me, amusement splashed all over his face. “You mean I’m not an asshole.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
He shuts his locker and looks at me, pity now softening the amusement that was just there. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Anything is better than failing this test.”
He stares at me a beat longer like he’s trying to decide how to tell me whatever it is he thinks is going to fix this mess and talk Lacey into helping me again. It’s Monday. The test is in two days. And judging by how much I don’t understand from the study guide, I still need a lot of help.
“What you need to do is to grovel,” Rowan says finally.
“Grovel?”
He smirks. “I told you that you wouldn’t like it.”
“I don’t even know what the hell you’re saying. I told her I was sorry already.”
“Did your apology come with gifts or a compliment?”
I think back to last night. Lacey with her arms crossed over her ridiculous yellow duck pajamas, still somehow looking cute even while she glared at me. There was no complimenting or gifts. Is that really a thing guys do? It isn’t like we’re dating.
For a moment I ponder that. What would dating Lacey be like? All that energy and optimism might be refreshing. It’d definitely be better than the cold shoulder I’m getting now.
Rowan is still waiting for an answer.
“No,” I admit.
“Start there. And when that doesn’t work, because—let’s be honest—Lacey is smart and she’s going to see right through what you’re doing, grovel harder.”
I groan, letting my head tip back. “I don’t have time for this. The test is Wednesday.”
“Then stop wasting time with me and get to work, Cap.” He places a reassuring hand on my shoulder before he heads off to class.
“Some help my friends are,” I mutter under my breath. I already tried Austin last night, but since he’s dating Lacey’s best friend, he just laughed and said something about being glad he wasn’t me and that I should look out for glitter bombs.
The three of them are hanging together now in front of Lacey’s and Claire’s lockers. Lacey won’t even look at me this morning, but Austin gives me a half smile and a nod as I approach their circle.
“We should get to class,” Austin says to Claire, grabbing her hand and pulling her away. I appreciate that he’s trying to give me an opening to talk to Lacey, but I haven’t figured out what I’m going to say.
“See you at lunch!” Claire waves to Lacey, who smiles back.
Lacey sees me as she turns to her open locker.
She doesn’t look as mad as last night, but she’s not happy to see me either.
I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, she stopped frowning at me and now that she’s back to it, I don’t like it.
“Hey,” I say, stopping beside her.
“Hi.” One word. Flat tone. Just like the old days.
My pulse races as I scramble to think of what to say or do next. She’s not going to make this easy on me. Rowan said grovel. God, he better be right. How do I grovel? He said something about compliments. Okay, I can do that.
“You look nice today.”
Her brows inch up, and she stares down at her cheer uniform.
“Thanks,” she says dryly.
She does look nice. She always does, but the uniform somehow works better on her than any of the other cheerleaders. The light blue complements her well and her legs are toned and sexy. Even the big bow on top of her head, which would look ridiculous on just about anyone else, suits her.
She slams her locker shut. “Is that all?”
“Umm…” I clear my throat. I don’t spend a lot of time talking to people, but I’m not usually this bad at it. Lacey brings out the worst in me. “The study guide you made was great. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
Okay, compliments are not working. What was the other thing?
Ah, gifts. Except I don’t have anything.
I’m not exactly keeping a stash of flowers and chocolate in my locker.
Is that something Rowan does? Is that a normal thing?
I have no idea, and trying to figure it out is exhausting.
I used to think I was pretty good with women.
But one ex-girlfriend and her best friend who hates me, says otherwise.
I reach into my pants pocket and pull out the protein bar I was saving for later. “Here.”
She takes it, then stares down at it for several moments. “What’s this for?”
“Umm…to eat?”
“You brought me a protein bar?”
“They’re good. My dad orders them online. They taste better than other brands. That one is chocolate milkshake.” A smile tugs at one corner of my mouth as I remember she also shares an affinity for my favorite flavor shake. Maybe I’m better at this than I thought.
“Thanks.” She looks confused by the gesture but less angry. Could Rowan’s advice have actually worked?
Without another word, she heads off to class, and I stand here like an idiot. A hungry idiot. Fuck, I gave her my morning snack. My friends are useless.
* * *
By lunch I haven’t come up with any other ideas.
I scarf down the cafeteria food, then go back for seconds.
When I sit back at the soccer table, Rowan eyes me carefully.
He usually sits with Austin at Claire and Lacey’s table, but since I failed my test, he’s been around more.
Rowan’s like that. He seems to gravitate to people in need.
And I guess I’m the biggest charity case right now.
“It didn’t work,” I say, chewing around another big mouthful.
“You actually did it?” he asks, tone indicating he hadn’t expected me to.
“I need her help.”
“Okay. Okay.” He drops his chicken sandwich to the tray. “What did you say? Give me the play-by-play.”
I think back to the painful encounter with Lacey this morning. “I told her she looked nice, and I complimented the study guide she made for me.”
“Good. Good,” he says in a voice that you might use with a child.
“And I gave her my protein bar.”
The silence that stretches out between us makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat.
“I did exactly what you said,” I add. “I gave her a gift.”
“You gave her a protein bar?” he asks in the exact same tone Lacey used.
“It’s all I had. And it was my last one.”
“A protein bar?”
“Is there something wrong with your hearing?” I ask instead of answering again.
He laughs. Loudly.
I keep eating while he has a good laugh at my expense. What an asshole. This was all his idea.
“I’m sorry,” he says, trying to get ahold of himself. “That is a sweet gesture coming from you. Good work.”
I can’t tell if he means it or not.
“Now what?” I grumble.
He glances over in the direction Lacey is sitting across the cafeteria. She’s smiling and laughing. My gut twists.
“Come with me.” He stands with his tray.
“Where?”
“Just trust me,” he calls over his shoulder.
With my tray in hand, I stand, and we walk together to the other side of the cafeteria. When we get to their table, Rowan takes a seat next to Lacey.
“Hey. Decide to come back to the cool table?” Her question trails off as she spots me standing behind him.
“Yep,” Rowan says without missing a beat. “And I brought a friend.”
I don’t have a great feeling about this, but it’s too late to turn back.
I set my tray down on the table in the only open spot between Claire and Lacey. Austin attempts to give me a reassuring smile as I sit with my ex-girlfriend on one side and on the other my…tutor.
Andie is also at the table with her boyfriend, Brandon.
“Hey.” I nod to them both.
“What’s up, Collins?” Brandon gives me a small chin jut. Andie smiles tentatively as she looks around the table.
Lacey doesn’t look my way at all, but Rowan doesn’t give up that easily. He leans over her to talk to me, forcing her to at the very least be aware of my presence.
“Are you going to the football game tonight?” he asks me.
“I’m grounded.”
“Oh, right. Bummer.” He looks at Lacey. “Any new cheers?”
She finally cracks a smile. “You’re so obvious right now.”
“What do you mean?” He takes a drink of milk to hide his smile.
Lacey rolls her eyes, but then she finally glances my way. “Hey, Vaughn.”
“Hey, Lacey.” My pulse quickens as her expression softens. She looks away quickly, staring down at her tray almost like she’s annoyed for being nice to me. Rowan catches my gaze and winks. Fucker.
The rest of lunch is uneventful. I don’t say much, but by the time the bell rings for us to go to our next class, I’ve relaxed and am no longer hangry.
The couples disperse first, then Rowan lifts one hand over his head as he leaves, “I’m off to class. Later, dudes.”
It’s just me and Lacey, and I know this is my chance to ask her to help me. I’m ready to resort to begging if necessary. But also, I just don’t want her to be mad at me anymore.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” I say.
Her steps are slow, and I keep her pace as we drop off our trays.
“We had a deal.”
“I know, and I blew it. You were right to be pissed, and I get it if you don’t want to help me anymore. It might not seem like it, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’re a good tutor, and I like studying with you. You make math fun somehow.”
Her brows lift ever so slightly. “I do?”
“Yeah, I mean, who else would make a Frost Lake color-coded study guide? You even drew little soccer balls and pom-poms around the edges.”
“I figured you’d think it was cheesy.”
“I don’t. It’s cool as hell. No one has ever done anything like that for me.” All true. People respect me, most even like me, but they don’t go out of their way to help me.
We leave our trays and move out of the line. When we’re a few feet away, she stops walking. The stare she levels me with makes me want to squirm, but I resist.
“I can’t tutor you tonight. I have the football game. The team is making up the Ralley game that got rescheduled due to weather last month.”
“I could meet you before or after,” I suggest.
“You have practice before, and after the game it’ll be late.
” She looks sympathetic about her schedule, but like maybe she doesn’t want to be too accommodating.
A small grin pulls at one side of her mouth.
“Unless you want to sit in the bleachers, and I’ll shout out algebra answers to you from the field. ”
“Yes,” I say before I can think too hard about it.
“I was kidding.” She laughs and we continue to walk again. The halls are starting to clear out as people head off to their fifth period class.
“I will take any time you have. Any.”
“Aren’t you worried about people seeing you?”
“I’ll deal,” I say.
“Okay. Meet me there at six.”
“Isn’t the game at seven?”
“Do you want help or not?” A little of her usual sass resurfaces, and I feel the first relief I have since she slammed the door in my face last night.
“Yes. I’ll be there.”