Chapter 4 The following Monday, I have a feeling that whatever Maddox and I had going on, which was barely anything, had come to an end on Friday night after he sped to my house and wordlessly told me to get out of the car. I was barely on the sidewalk when he zoomed off again, leaving me to watch the car until it disappeared down the street. I was home by ten thirty. At least Vivica hadn't seen the sour end to a supposedly fun night. I was right, to put it simply. Maddox doesn't even spare a glance at me in class, nor does he bother to wave at me whenever we have a few seconds of uncomfortable eye contact, not that he ever would before. I feel bad for some unknown reason. I guess it's because I went against his wishes and forced my way into his life by meeting his brother. Maddox isn't the nicest person, but then again, we all have our flaws. One of my major ones, unfortunately, is that I'm a people-pleaser. I'm trying to change that. When Wednesday comes around, I'm content with the idea of eating alone and walking to and from school. It'll take me forty five minutes, give or take, but I'll manage. I don't want to have to depend on anyone, especially not Vivica. So when I arrive at school ten minutes before the first bell rang, I decide to go to the bathroom to freshen up. The walking will take some time getting used to and I'll have to plan rides with Aunt Gen ahead of time in the case of bad weather. It isn't until sixth period that I'm assigned the first partner project of the school year. I would've been excited had I actually liked the project, and had someone been willing to partner up with me. Instead, I'm in the front of the class like an idiot while everyone else is partnering up behind me. The teacher begins calling out names and checking who they're partnered with to keep record. "Jessica Fay?" Mr. Herman calls out. "Aaron," Jessica responds in short. I glance at her and she brushes her curly hair out of her face. "Aaron, are you okay with that?" Mr. Herman asks and Aaron nods. I already asked the teacher if we were allowed to work alone and he said no and that this class requires a lot of group work. It's American Literature- there are plenty of authors who write their stories alone. Why can't I be one of them? It's a children's book, not a textbook. Working with someone else will only make things difficult. Besides, if we have to work on it at home, that makes things ten times harder. "Maddox Finnegan?" the teacher calls and I stare at the ceiling, hoping that there are an odd number of students in the class so I'd be allowed to work alone. But knowing Mr. Herman, he'd force me into an already formed group so I'd be an awkward and unwanted third wheel. "Olivia," his familiar voice speaks from the back of the class. I furrow my eyebrows when I try to think if there are other Olivia's in this class. Apparently, there aren't because Mr. Herman looks to me as if satisfied that I ended up finding a partner. "Is that okay with you?" he questions me and I purse my lips. Slowly, I nod. "Yeah, sure." When Mr. H sees that we aren't moving, he claps his hands to signify that we're moving on to the next part of the class. "Sit with your partners while I pass out the project booklets," he announces and I glance back at Maddox. He's sitting back in his seat with his phone in his hands. When he sees that I'm not moving, he surprises me by groaning, collecting his things, and getting up. Mr. H gives us ten minutes at the end of class to discuss potential topics. I take it upon myself to change the direction of our conversation. "What made you decide to actually talk to me again?" I inquire with a slight attitude. "Have I ever told you that you talk so much?" he wonders with a quiet sigh. "Have I ever told you that you dodge questions often?" I retort with raised brows. "Have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he comments as he flips his phone over in his hands. "You're very rude," I mutter as I glance down at the desk. "And I repeat, have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he reiterates with a dry expression on his face. "I hope you know that this project requires working outside of school," I murmur as I look through the packet. "I'm aware," he concludes. "And we're definitely not working at my aunt's." I shiver at the thought of being in the same house as Vivica while Maddox is there. She hates the fact that Maddox actually agreed to go to homecoming with me. Seeing me and him together after will only strike another fuse. "Is this you begging to go to my house?" he asks with something of a smirk. I stare at him for a few seconds before raising an eyebrow. I guess he's awkward in situations where he's guilty of doing something bad. In this case, it's treating me like garbage and not apologizing. Rather than manning up and saying that he's sorry, he simply ignored me. Now he's back and trying to act as though nothing happened. "Was that supposed to be a joke?" I question him. "Is this your way of trying to apologize for getting mad at me for something that wasn't my fault? And being an overall jerk to me when I was just trying to be nice?" He sighs and looks the other way. "I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're asking of me." I gaze at him for a few more seconds before shaking my head and turning back to the packet on my desk. So he's just working with me because I'm the only one he can "tolerate", not because he actually wants to work with me. + + + When the last bell rings, I get up, take my time walking to my locker, and slowly put my books. I even use the bathroom and put my hair up. Once I'm ready to leave, I exit the school and notice that many cars are missing, including my cousin's. I told my aunt that I would be walking back and forth from school from now on so she wouldn't yell at Vivica for arriving home without me. When she asked why, I told her for exercising purposes; I was too embarrassed to tell her that her daughter hates me. Maddox's car is still outside when I push open the doors to the building. Like usual, he's leaning up against it with his phone in his hands. I know he's not waiting for anyone, but for some reason, he's still here. I zip my jacket up as I walk across the lot. Because Maddox parks his car near the entrance, I have to walk past him, and as I'm doing so, he calls out to me. "They left," he states the obvious as if my eyes don't work. "I'm aware," I respond.