Impossible (14 page)

I shook my head. “I don’t have to, but it makes me feel better.”

Her scowl deepened. “You’re an ass.”

“So I’ve heard.” I rolled my eyes.

“Go to hell!” She stood up, her fists clenched at her sides.

As much as I wanted to push her down on my bed and do her, there was no way I was getting anywhere near her without gagging her first. The girl never shut her damn mouth. This was why we couldn’t be near each other. We always ended up getting into an argument. Every. Single. Time.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew what Momma and Ash’s mom were trying to do. I’d seen them talking to each other over the fence in the afternoons sometimes. It was pretty obvious they were trying to get me and Ashton to be friends again. If they could see us now, I’m pretty sure they’d both change their minds. Fast.

Ash sighed deeply, like she wanted to be anywhere but here with me. She really didn’t cope well when things didn’t go her way. “Look, I’m sorry. Let me try again. I need your help.”

I raised an eyebrow and stood up too. This was getting interesting. Princess Ash needed my help. Well, that was a first. “With what?”

“Gooutwithme.” The words tumbled out her mouth so fast that I was pretty sure I’d misheard her. Either that or all the underage drinking was messing with my head.

“What did you say?”

Ash took a deep breath and stepped closer, her blue eyes desperate. “Go out with me. I mean, not actually go out, but pretend to.” She took another breath and tried again. “I want you to go out with me so I’ll actually exist on the social radar.”

My brow furrowed and confusion flooded me. “Why the hell would you want to go out with me? Aren’t I a social pariah? Won’t your reputation become unredeemable if we
go out
?”

“Boys are seriously so dumb,” Ash said in exasperation. “Have you looked in the mirror? Do you see yourself? Can’t you tell that
everyone
is going to be talking about you in school tomorrow?”

I shrugged. “So what? I’m still in a rock band that everyone thinks worships the devil, and I still have the same friends. Is it really going to change things that much?”

Ash rolled her eyes. “Um, duh. Girls in high school only think about one thing. Cute guys.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “So, let me get this straight. You want me to pose as your boyfriend because I’m “cute” so that you’ll become popular, become a cheerleader again, and go back to making fun of me with your idiot friends?”

“Exactly.”

“You’re delusional.”

“I’m desperate.”

Frustration surged through me. When Ashton had said she’d wanted to talk to me, this wasn’t what I’d had in mind. “That really makes me feel for you knowing that I’m a last resort.”

“Oh, come on. It’s the least you can do for me after everything that happened between us in the past.”

She didn’t need to elaborate for me to catch her meaning. She was obviously referring to how I’d pushed her away in the past after Dad’s death.

Still, I wasn’t going to back down that easily just so Ash could become popular again and go back to terrorizing the rest of the school. “I need to get something out of this arrangement too.”

Ash crossed her arms, looking defeated. She was clearly done arguing with me. “Fine, name your price.”

Hmm. What could Ashton do for me? There was nothing that immediately came to mind, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t think of something later on. “How about you owe me a favor that I can cash in at a later time?”

“I am not making out with you,” she said immediately, shooting me a look that could kill.

“What would make you think that I’d want to make out with
you
?”

That shut her up and she didn’t say anything else. Feeling smug, I held out my hand. “So, do we have a deal, Ashy?”

Her eyes lit up like blue fairy lights as she shook my hand. A part of me wanted to pull her into my arms, but I resisted the temptation. “It’s a deal.”

Luca

The next morning Ashton went to school in my car and this time, she didn’t make me drop her off around the corner. At first no one really paid much attention to us, but when we entered the courtyard I knew some serious shit was about to go down.

“Luca, what happened to you?” Stace was the first to notice me. She was sitting on the wall with Elly and Riley—who looked like he was trying to make the most out of my absence. It didn’t seem like Stace was showing much interest though, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy.

I ran a hand through my gel-free hair, feeling self-conscious. “It was time for a change.”

“I like it. A lot,” Stace said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. Suddenly, her entire demeanor changed and she narrowed her eyes at something behind me. “What do you want, Barbie?”

My heart sank and I glanced over my shoulder to see Ashton standing behind me looking nervous as hell. Crap. I’d almost forgotten about her. I motioned for Ash to come closer, and she stepped beside me, twisting a piece of her hair around a finger.

When I put my arm around her, Stace’s eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline. “She’s with me.”

“She what?” Riley’s mouth was hanging open as he looked between me and Ash like he was waiting for someone to jump out and yell April Fools.

“You heard me. She’s with me. We’re dating.”

Elly’s face turned pale white, and she clutched the chain around her neck as though it would protect her from my words. “That’s…um…that’s…”

“…Fucked up!” Stace finished in a loud voice that drew everyone’s attention. Great. Now we had an audience. “I mean, this is obviously some sort of joke, isn’t it Luca? You’re just messing with us, aren’t you? Well, you got us, so Barbie can scram now.”

Before I could say anything, Ashton spoke. “My name is Ashton, not Barbie, and the only joke around here is your greasy hair.”

Oh shit. Why couldn’t Ashton just keep her damn mouth shut?

Stace looked like she wanted to choke the living daylights out of Ash. “What did you just say?”

“Are you hard of hearing?” Ash asked coolly, raising an eyebrow. “I can fix that for you if you want.”

“Okay, that’s enough sweet talk for one day,” I said and clamped a hand over Ash’s mouth. She struggled against my hold as I bent my head to her ear. “Don’t make me kiss you again, because I will do it.” She immediately stopped struggling and shot me a glare. With a chuckle, I released her and turned back to my friends.

Stace was watching our exchange with fury in her eyes. “So, that’s the real reason why you weren’t into me the other day, why you haven’t asked me to come over since then, because of her.”

“Stace, you know things between us weren’t serious.” I felt like a complete tool, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“I know that!” Stace snapped. “But I didn’t think you’d move onto a self-centered, egotistical, stupi—.”

“What’s going on?” a soft voice asked from behind us.

Great. Eddie was here.

He was the one I’d been most worried to face. Eddie knew me the best, and my feelings were usually pretty transparent to him. He was the one we’d have to work the hardest to convince about this whole charade. Otherwise, he’d see right through the sham in ten seconds.

I put an arm around Ash’s small waist and pulled her against my side. She seemed surprised by my directness, but didn’t move away. If she had, it would’ve been obvious that she wasn’t into me. We had to make everyone think that we were a real couple, not just faking it.

“They’re going out,” Riley said slowly, nodding towards me.

Eddie looked between me and Ashton with a neutral expression. He scratched his head in a comical way before addressing me. “Are you effing crazy? You’re going out with her? You hate her.” He said it in such a casual tone that it took Ash a moment before his words sunk in.

She lifted up her head to study me. “You told him you hated me?” she asked in an undertone. “You really dug us into a hole, didn’t you?”

Everyone’s gaze was directed at me, waiting for answers, waiting for an explanation. Yesterday, Ash and me had gone over possible scenarios that we’d have to deal with, but it was a hell of a lot harder trying to remember them when your friends were looking at you like you were dressed in a tutu. It was like your mind had gone completely blank as you stared straight down the barrel of a gun.

I gulped. “Guys, I don’t blame you if you don’t understand, but respect that Ash and I are together and get off my back. It happened and we’re dating. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“So, it wasn’t a big deal when she threw coffee all over Elly and humiliated her in front of half the senior year?” Stace demanded.

It was only natural that Stace was defending Elly, though I suspected she had her own reasons too. Elly had always been on good terms with us, but after last week she’d started hanging out with us full time. Normally, she was trying to befriend the jocks and cheerleaders, but they didn’t want anything to do with her now that she’d quit the cheerleading squad. Just like they didn’t want anything to do with Ashton.

Ashton and Elly were in the same boat. The only difference was that Elly was a nice girl and Ash was, well, a bitch.

“Is that why your hair’s different?” Eddie asked, “Because she wanted you to change it?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s got nothing to do with her. I changed it before we got together. I was sick of the same look, so I went back to my natural color.” Seriously, why was my hair such an important topic of conversation? It was hair, get over it already.

“So, is she going to hang out with us now?” Riley asked.

Ash stiffened beside me and when I looked over at her, she was shooting Riley a look that could kill. “First of all, I have a name—use it. Secondly, stop talking about me like I’m not standing right here. I have ears, you know?”

“I’m only treating you the way you always treat us. It’s not so nice when you’re on the receiving end, is it?” Riley’s mouth formed a tight line and it looked like he wanted to kick something. “And I bet you don’t even know my name.”

Ash tilted her head to the side as she studied him. “It’s Mitchell, isn’t it?”

I groaned inwardly. She was making Riley’s point for him, and he was right. Ash had always treated us like shit and he was just returning the favor. I couldn’t blame him for that and I definitely couldn’t make him like her.

Riley laughed coldly and shook his head. “You’re not even close.”

I cut in to stop Ash from saying something provocative again. “To answer your question, yes, Ash is going to be hanging out with us from now on. Let’s not hold a grudge against her for things she’s done in the past. She isn’t like that now.” I didn’t really know how convincing I sounded, because I knew Ash hadn’t changed at all.

“Riiiight,” Stace said in disbelief. “In a week she’s had a major transformation. We don’t want someone like that in our group. When we’re not paying attention she’ll stab us in the back.”

“Let it go, Stace. Ash stays.” My tone was final and no one argued with me after that. It wasn’t that I believed what I was saying, but I knew any guy would stand up for his girlfriend. If we wanted everyone to buy into this then we had to look convincing from every angle.

Spending time with Ashton and pretending to date her wasn’t my idea of fun, but seven years ago I’d pushed her away and ended our friendship for my own selfish reasons. A part of me felt like I owed her something.

“I can’t believe you, Luca. Can’t you see how evil she is?” Stace demanded.

Her animosity was really getting on my nerves. “You’re one to talk, Stace. You can’t even see what’s right in front of your own eyes.”

Stace frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Automatically, I turned in Riley’s direction. His face went bright red as Stace stared at him in confusion. Finally, she shot me a look of disgust before grabbing Elly. “Come on, let’s go. I can’t stand to be near
her
.” They walked off and entered the school building, leaving Riley and Eddie behind.

Eddie met my eye and tilted his head to the right. “Can we talk, Luca?”

Shit. I really hoped he wasn’t about to give me the third degree. I didn’t know how well I could keep this lie going with Eddie asking me twenty questions.

“Is that alright?” I asked Ash.

She shrugged and smoothed back her long, silky hair. “I don’t need you to babysit me. I’ll be fine.”

It was unbelievable how someone so sweet looking could have so much damn attitude. I left her by the wall and walked with Eddie a few meters away. Riley followed us—clearly not wanting to be left alone with Ashton—and seemed to be recovering from the suggestion I’d made about him to Stace.

“What’s going on with you?” Eddie asked as soon as we were out of earshot of Ashton.

I played dumb. “What do you mean?”

“He means that you seem really weird, man. You’re acting…strange,” Riley said with a frown. “Last week you swore up and down how much you hated the girl and this week you’re dating her. It’s like you turned into a different person over the weekend.”