Chapter 7 On Wednesday, I manage to convince Maddox into another project session. We set a date: Thursday, his house, six o'clock. So when Thursday comes around, I make sure we're still going to work on the project at lunch. "Are we still on for today?" I ask him when it's just the two of us at the table. We walked down to lunch together; well, we had a twenty foot gap between us, but we arrived within the same thirty seconds. "Why do you always ask? Obviously I didn't cancel, so yes, Olive, we're still on for today," he confirms with a roll of his eyes. "Olivia," I correct him. "And I don't want to walk in on something that I don't want to see." His eyebrows furrow as he looks at me. "Something you don't want to see?" he questions. "Yeah, I mean, I don't know what you do in your free time," I shrug as I dip a fry into my ketchup. "You're disgusting," he shakes his head. "Well, you never know," I mutter with a weak shrug. "What's disgusting?" Nicholas asks as he sits down. "Her mind," Maddox retorts with a nod at me. "I didn't peg you as a pervert," Nicholas says as he scrutinizes me. "I'm not!" I respond defensively. "I just don't know what he does in his free time!" "Why were you thinking about it?" Nicholas questions me and my eyes widen. "I wasn't!" I blurt. My face begins to heat up as both boys look at me judgmentally. "You weren't what?" Jackson asks as he drops down into a seat. "She was thinking about what Maddox does in his free time, if you know what I mean," Nicholas wiggles his eyebrows. "Who was thinking about what Maddox does in his free time?" Winona wonders as she and Cassidy place their trays on the table beside me. "No one!" I snap. Everyone turns to look at me as I sit there, blushing and embarrassed. "No one was thinking about Maddox at all." "That's quite rude," Jackson pipes as he shakes his head. "He's rude!" I retort as I point at Maddox, who seems entertained at all the harassment I'm facing. "Yeah, but he's Maddox. It's expected of him," Jackson shrugs with a slow shake of his head. "You're nice, or at least we thought you were. Now your true colors are showing, you pervert." I groan aloud as everyone starts laughing. Remind me to never speak again. + + + "Aunt Genevieve, can I go over Maddox's house today?" I ask my aunt when I come downstairs with my bag over my shoulder. Her eyebrows shoot up on her face. "For what?" she asks in slight alarm. "We have to work on a project for American Literature," I explain, not quite grasping the reasoning behind her surprise. "And it requires you to go over his house? Why can't he come here? Are his parent's home?" she lets her questions fire. "Yeah, I think his parents will be home," I lie. He makes it a point to invite me over when they're not home. "You think?" my aunt asks. "I don't like him, Aunt Gen," I respond when I finally catch on. "And he doesn't like me, trust me." My aunt looks at me skeptically. "Okay, but I want you home by eight o'clock," she concludes. I nod, knowing I'll be home before then. "Okay," I confirm.