Chapter 10

The first day back after suspension, wasn't so bad. Other than a few murderous glances, Gio pretty much left me alone, which I wasn't sure was necessarily a good thing. Especially since it carried on into the next day.

The last time the youngest Mancini left me alone, Atlee hit on me. Or he attempted to hit on me that is, and that was an experience that I did not want to relive. I still had no idea what that was all about.

At least when Gio's hands were around my neck, I knew what he was planning. His murderous intent was fairly obvious. That I could deal with, but this quiet, pretending I didn't exist bullshit was seriously disturbing. I found myself watching him a lot more than I normally did, which was pretty much never.

I may need to work a little more on my situational awareness. But then I'd have to pay attention to people and stuff, and that sounded utterly exhausting. Not to mention, I didn't give a crap what other people did. Yet I'd been stuck watching Gio strut around school for two days, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like some crazy conspiracy theorist.

By the way, I was pretty sure he found the secret to weight loss. Gio ate a lot of fries. Like every day. Did he have a thing for potatoes? Because that would be useful information if I ever needed to poison him.

It wouldn't be too hard to slip a dose of something in a pile of potatoes. Mind you, there was a high possibility that I'd end up poisoning myself, so that might not be a good idea.

Oh well, in the meantime I'd take Gio's ignoring tactics as a win, and not worry about the ‘you'll find out Friday' threat. Whatever that meant. That was Friday Me's problem.

Besides, I had other things to worry about today.

"Hi Nova."

My eyes narrowed on yet another smiling face.

Weird didn't even begin to describe the atmosphere when I walked down the hall. Not only did everyone suddenly know my name, but they were happy to see me. What kind of crap was that? I was really starting to miss the gunshot sounding backfire my truck used to make.

Two girls invaded my personal bubble while I was walking across the parking lot. Then three more insisted on walking with Memphis and I to homeroom. One of whom kept talking to me in class like I was her friend or something.

I didn't have friends.

Well, there was Memphis, but he was more like a brother. A friend wouldn't put up with me for as long as he did. To be fair, I put up with him too. I even saw him through his bubble gum pink phase.

Trust me, that took patience. Like it or not Memphis and I were stuck with each other. That was cemented after our first sleepover when we both peed the bed. There was no going back from that.

I turned the corner and immediately wanted to run in the other direction.

"Hey Nova, wait up." A blonde down the hall, swished her hand excitedly through the air.

Ugh. She was lucky I was hungry and had to go past her to get to my next class. Home Economics always guaranteed a snack. Why else would anyone sign up for it? To learn how to sew. Pfft, I had Maw Maw for that.

"Oh my God," she rushed up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm so glad I ran into you."

Why was this person touching me?

"That makes one of us." Trust me, I was not happy to see her, whoever she was.

The girl let out an annoying fake giggle that kind of made me wonder if she was real. She looked like a doll, with her make-up and hair all perfect. If I poked her would her skin be plastic?

"You're so funny."

No I wasn't.

"It's so refreshing to talk to someone who isn't serious all the time, and you have to tell me who does your hair."

Who?"It's called a brush."

I found it under the bed this morning. There were advantages to tripping over one's own two feet.

She giggled again, "You are too much."

Then why was she still talking to me?

"Your shoes don't match that outfit." I don't think anything really matched these uniforms, nor did I have any fashion sense whatsoever, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. And she seemed like the kind of person who would care.

"I know, these pumps are so last year." She rolled her eyes. "I was thinking about getting these cute little beige ones I saw at Hannagan's."

Why did that sound like a question? And why was she asking me? I had different colored laces in my runners, which by the way were neon green. And not brand name. Did she not see me standing here?

I looked down at my shoes and back up at her. "Are you blind?"

Thankfully she didn't laugh at that, she just gave me a weird look. Considering the pink manicure on her nails and faded green marker on mine, I thought it was a valid question.

"No? Why? Do I have something in my teeth or something?"

That seemed to really bother her. She even lifted her hand up to cover her mouth, which was just as perfect as the rest of her. But, I was never one to waste an opportunity.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It's pretty gross. You might want to go clean that up."

"Oh my God, thank you."

"My pleasure." And I meant that in every sense.

She skipped down the hall and waved at me. "We'll talk later."

Talk later? I didn't say anything about later. If I wanted to talk to people, I'd go to bridge games with Maw Maw. No one gossiped more than a bunch of old women with nothing better to do. What the hell was wrong with that girl? Did she not get the memo that this was high school? It was a miserable and lonely experience that no one wanted to relive. Not some slumber party.

Oh God, was she going to invite me to a slumber party? I could see the pink frilly pajamas and makeovers now.

Ugh.

School was really starting to suck. I hadn't even made to lunch yet and I already wanted to stab a pencil in my eye, so people would think I was crazy and stop talking to me.

Sighing, I put the encounter behind me and opened the door to Home Ec. My mouth was practically watering at the thought of fresh baked goods. I was looking forward to it so much that the possible torture of a slumber party didn't bother me.

Then I walked in the room and saw how many girls signed up for this class. All of whom shot me a smile.

Great. Now, I'd get a side of gossip with my snack. A pencil in the eye was looking better and better.

There was so much estrogen in here that I could taste it in the air. Only two guys mixed within the painted up faces. One was sporting a varsity football jacket, and the other was Mister I'm Everywhere himself. And guess who I was paired up with?

Our teacher apparently had a thing about alphabetical order. Hence Fiore and Ford. The only thing that stopped me from turning around and walking out when Atlee threw his arm over my shoulder, was the bag of chocolate chips sitting on our counter.

"Hey partner." Atlee sang with a smile. "I hope you can bake, ‘cause I sure as hell can't."

He better not ruin my cookies. That would be cause for murder, and there were plenty of knives around.

"Do you want to learn how to bake?" It was possible. Maybe Atlee wanted to be able to make himself a midnight snack. Hell, I'd even be happy to teach him.

"Fuck no."

Or I could happily stab him in the eye with a pencil.

"If you have no interest in baking, then why did you sign up for this class?"

"The chicks." He said as if I should've known this, which considering who I was talking to, I probably should've.

So not only did I have to put up with his annoying grin, but there was a high probability that he would ruin my snack. Fantastic.

"Okay first off, don't touch me." I shrugged his arm off my shoulder. "I don't know where your fingers have been." Though if I had to guess, I'd say in the blonde three rows up. She looked way too happy. "Also, I'm not going to carry you through this class, so you better do your work. And…" I snatched the bag of chocolate chips off the counter. "Don't eat my chocolate."

These delectable little drops were all mine.

"I would never mess with a woman's chocolate."

"Well, at least you"re not stupid."

Atlee let out a small chuckle as I crammed a handful of chocolate chips in my mouth. "Someone's extra grumpy today."

If he had to spend all morning around a bunch of chattering Betties he'd be grumpy too.

"Do you know how many shades of pink are in the Mac eyeshadow palette? Because I do."

That was knowledge no one needed.

"Are you talking about their Luscious model or all that glitters?"

Dear god he was one of them.

Atlee shrugged at the look I was giving him. "I have two sisters."

Did I know that? I feel like I did. I met Kendall–who could forget her–but I wasn't sure if I knew about the other one. Was there another specimen of human perfection walking around these halls? I don't know what the Fiore's were eating, but whatever it was, it put them on a level above everyone else. Even Atlee's dad was hot. I kind of hated them all.

"Let me guess, your mom's a supermodel?"

I must've touched on a sore subject because the muscle in Atlee's jaw tensed. "No, she's a whore."

Did he mean like a literal whore, because that would be oddly fitting.

"Okay, when you say whore…"

"I mean she is a waste of skin that a starving cannibal wouldn't feed to his dog."

Wow, that was oddly graphic. "I take it, you"re not close."

The look he gave me rivaled the ones Gio had when he was attempting to strangle me. I was curious about what his mother did to make him hate her so much, but I let it go.

He did not.

The only thing more unnerving than having random people talk to me all day, was standing next to a quiet Atlee Fiore. The spark that was normally lighting up his eyes dulled, while he stared down at the recipe card on our counter. I kind of felt bad.

If anyone understood the effects of bad parenting, it was me. All I remember about my father was that cold stare. And my mother…

"My mother was a drunk." I wanted Atlee to know he wasn't alone. "She used to fall asleep on the couch with lit cigarettes in her hand."

Kato said she was just heartbroken over losing our dad, but I always thought it was more than that. She was sad all the time.

Atlee looked over at me. "Did she kill your baby brother?"

"Ah, no?"

"Then I win."

Yeah, I couldn't top that one.

Atlee didn't say much after that, and I wasn't about to get him to open up more.

The first part of class passed by fairly quietly, which made things feel awkward. The jokes and zest for life that usually followed Atlee around was gone. He didn't even smile while we mixed ingredients. It wasn't the same as when other people went silent.

Atlee wasn't thinking, or empty, or wanting to be left alone. The only word I could use to describe it was dangerous. Just standing beside him sent a chill up my spine. I felt sorry for anyone who encountered this version of Atlee Fiore.

So, I did what I did best. I channeled my inner pain in the ass and chucked a handful of flour at him.

Atlee coughed and waved away the white cloud. "What the hell?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to help soak up some of the skank I'm sure is on you… everywhere."

I'd seen him go in a room with some girl earlier today so, it wasn't a complete lie. And flour was fairly absorbent. I may need to throw a handful on a couple of other parts? Just to be sure, I dunked my hand in the flour bag and chucked some more at him.

I was slightly disappointed that most of the flour hit his shirt this time, but I did enjoy the puff of powder on his black pants. So much so that I may have chuckled when Atlee started swiping it off the fabric. He didn't look so perfect now.

"Oh, you think that's funny?"

"I mean…"

Next thing I knew, a cloud of white exploded in my face. Let me just say, flour and breathing did not mix. I had to cough through my next couple of breaths, but that bright spark was back in Atlee's eyes. So my mission was accomplished.

"Hey!" I tore the hand towel off the oven door. "I don't have skank on me."

"Is that right?" Atlee snickered.

I wiped my face clean and lifted my chin. "That's right."

When I gave him a dirty look, Atlee held up his hands and laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll apologize. But only if you share."

His eyes dropped to the open bag in my hand as I hugged it tightly to my chest.

"Come on," he held his hand out. "Sharing is caring."

That might be his motto, but it was not mine.

To prove that point, I scooped a handful out of the bag, looked him dead in the eye, and stuffed them in my mouth. After which I went about chewing and chomping as loudly as I could. I even threw in a few mm's and ah's.

Anyone else would've rolled their eyes at my chocolate smacks and ignored me. But not Atlee. No. If anything he seemed amused by my antics. His whiskey eyes lit right up as a wide grin spread across his face.

"Are you this loud with everything you eat?"

I stopped chewing and eyed him. What did he mean by that? Did he know?

"What did Gio tell you?"

My mouthful of chocolate should've made my words hard to understand, but apparently not. Atlee's eyes lit right up.

"What should he have told me?"

In all my life, I'd never had trouble eating. Food was one of my favorite things, but the mouthful I swallowed was so heavy I could feel it move down my throat.

"Nothing," I coughed.

"Uh huh? Why don't I believe you?"

At least Gio didn't go around telling everyone what happened. Not sure how that made me feel? Weren't guys supposed to brag about this stuff? Gio didn't even tell his closest friends. Did that mean that I was bad at it? Did I care?

"Stop looking at me like that." I said, turning my anger towards Atlee.

He snickered and held his hands up, "Maybe I just like a girl with a healthy appetite."

I bet he did.

"Sexual appetites don't count."

"Trust me, they do." He tilted his head. "Don't worry, you'll find out."

How the hell did he know what I'd find out?

"Maybe I already know." I placed the bag on the counter and began wiping down the counter.

"I hate to tell you this," he leaned in to whisper, "But virgins don't know shit."

Showed how much he knew. "I've had boyfriends."

"Not that you've done anything with."

"Yes, I have." I walked down the playground aisle when I was seven with… someone. All I could remember about him was that he had great snacks. I'd also kissed a few guys, and I got to watch Cindy swallow Simon's dick. None of which included what happened with Gio, which was also something that would go in the never talked about vault.

"I have plenty of experience."

"Uh huh." Atlee muttered in a way that made me think he didn't believe me.

"I do." I insisted.

He gave me the most condescending nod I"d ever seen.

What was with this guy? He didn't know what I did in the past. Maybe I'd slept with someone, or did other stuff when I was drunk. It was plausible. Not even I knew what I did in that state.

"I have more experience than you think."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. I've been with all kinds of guys."

Technically I was with Memphis all the time, and he was a guy.

Atlee's brow lifted. "Can I be there when you tell Gio that?"

Asshole.

"Gio wouldn't care."

"Yes, he would."

"No he wouldn't."

"I'm pretty sure he would."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't."

"Trust me," Atlee said. "He would."

"Why on earth would I trust you?"

"That's fair," he chuckled. "But I do know Gio. He's a jealous asshole. He's punched me more than once for checking you out?"

See, now I knew he was lying. "Why would you ever check me out?"

I was nowhere near the league of girls he went for. Then again, I did have a vagina and that seemed to be Atlee's only requirement.

"Because I want to fuck you."

His statement, bold as it was, only proved my point. Altee Fiore would sleep with anyone.

"Is that supposed to impress me?"

Atlee stepped back and gave me a strange look. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?" I asked with an exaggerated eye roll.

"How hot you are."

That made me snort. "Yeah, okay."

Pretty sure I wasn't going to be enlisted for the next swimsuit cover model anytime soon. I might be able to get my picture in the Walmart catalogue though. I'd just have to run behind someone in the middle of a photoshoot, and invent a Walmart catalogue.

"If it wasn't for Gio, I'd have had you on your knees the first day we met."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? If so, he sucked at them.

"No, you wouldn't have." Simon had a better chance of that than Atlee, and he cheated on me. "But I'm flattered that you find me that cheap."

"You're hardly cheap," he leaned in and softly added, "I'm just that good."

Did he just stroke my ego and insult me in the same sentence? That took some serious skill. I was a little impressed.

"You're not that good. Trust me."

"You sure about that?"

One tip of Atlee's head had me more uncomfortable than I'd ever been. His whiskey eyes shone with sin while darkness and desire sparked in the small curl on the corner of his mouth. Until that moment I didn't know that a single look could make me feel dirty.

"Stop that." I was two seconds away from needing an emergency trip to the confessional.

And did he stop? Of course not. Atlee amped it up to the point that I was sure he could see what I looked like under my clothes.

"Alright," I threw a couple of chocolate chips at his chest. "You made your point."

The shower inducing expression was wiped away and replaced with normal annoying Atlee. Never thought I'd be happy to see that stupid grin.

"Don't look so cocky." I poured some more chocolate chips in my palm. "It's not like I'm hard prey."

"I wouldn't say that." He casually reached over and stole some of my snack out of my hand. "You haven't fucked Gio yet."

Yet? "That's not going to happen. Unlike you, I have standards."

They weren't very high standards, but they were there. Asshole did not meet my requirements for a potential relationship. Not that I was ever going to have a real relationship since I was technically engaged, and I might have to touch him. Babies were kind of hard to get without touching unless the turkey baster method was applied. But all that was four years in future Me's problem.

As if my words bothered him, Atlee placed his hand over his heart. "I have standards."

"Where?" I didn't see these standards. Nor did I believe his fake gesture of hurt.

"Okay, fine, I'll give you that. But…" He pointed at me. "I won't fuck just anyone."

I found that hard to believe. "Name one person you turned down."

His brow knit as he looked up in contemplation. I watched him tick through names in his head, then I got bored and turned my attention to the timer. The aroma of fresh-baked cookies was making my mouth water. Waiting for the timer to ding was like torture. Every second felt like an hour.

"Martha Dickson." Atlee exclaimed, making my heart jump in my chest.

"What the hell, Atlee?"

"You asked me to name someone I turned down."

My brow cocked at the timer, then back at him. "And it took you seven minutes?"

How many girls had he slept with?

"Yeah," he said as if there was nothing wrong with that. "Do you want to know why I didn't fuck her?"

I don't know? Did I? This kind of felt like a trick question.

Skepticism narrowed my eyes, "I guess?"

"She was shady as fuck, always running her mouth and taking credit for other people's work, stealing their essays and shit."

Really that was his big issue? Don't get me wrong, taking someone else's credit was a shitty thing to do, but I expected more. Like webbed toes and a mutated nose or some other deformity.

Atlee shook his head. "Daddy don't play that game."

"Did you just refer to yourself as Daddy?"

"Hey, I don't kink shame." He shot me a wink. "Daddy loves everyone equally."

"Don't ever say that again."

"Da—"

"Nope," I shook my head. "Never again, or I swear to God, I will beat you to death with a spatula."

"Like I said, I don't kink shame."

Oh, my god.

I pointed over to the closet in the corner of the classroom. "Go and get the oven mitts."

The asshole snapped his back straight, gave me a salute, sang, "Yes ma'am," and skipped off. And I meant skipped. Atlee hopped across the room with his arms swinging like a happy child. It was seriously annoying. Or at least I found it annoying. The two giggling girls next to me, did not.

"He's so cute." One sighed.

The other tipped her head. "I know, look at how happy he is."

Happy? I don't know about that. He looked stupid to me.

Number one nodded in agreement. "And did you see how he was joking around with her?"

"So, sweet…" They both said in unison.

"I bet he's a great boyfriend."

Some girls would never learn. Atlee had a reputation for a reason. And the word girlfriend was not part of that reputation.

I rolled my eyes and began putting ingredients back in the cupboard.

"How do you think she did it?"

I grunted and hoisted up the large bag. Why was flour so heavy? It came from a plant. And why were those girls still talking about Atlee? Yeah, okay, so he was alright to look at, but he wasn't that great.

"I don't know… Nova?"

Great, now they were talking to me.

"Yeah?" I sighed while sliding the bag on a shelf.

"How did you tie him down?"

That was a weird question.

"I guess I'd use a knot?" That was kind of implicated in the word tie.

Let me just say, their combined laugh was much more annoying than Atlee's smile.

"That's funny."

Of course it was, I was a comical genius.

"He does seem like the type who would enjoy being tied up…"

"Or tying someone up…" The other girl finished.

For a second I thought they'd finally shut up – I didn't know how much more I could take of their high pitched voices – then I stood back up and saw them staring at me. Their eyes were wide and glimmering with so much sweetness it made my teeth hurt. My lips actually curled.

"Can I help you?"

The red head propped her chin up with her hand and said, "We just want to know your secret."

Why would I tell them my secret? Not to mention they'd have to be more specific than that. were they referring to one of the many things I didn't tell Maw Maw, or my secret pet opossum I had in the treehouse in the woods behind the trailer. I called him George.

"Yeah," The other added. "How did you make Atlee a one woman man?"

Okay, now I was confused.

"Atlee?"

They nodded.

"Atlee Fiore?" I clarified.

They nodded again.

"Are we talking about the same guy, because I'm pretty sure Atlee's over there flirting with that blonde."

We all looked in that direction and sure enough, there was Atlee charming the pants off the girl three rows up. I just hoped he didn't actually charm her pants off. There were some things I never wanted to see.

Girl number one rolled her eyes while the other snorted out, "Ugh, hussy. That must make you so mad."

Was she talking to me?

"Why would that make me mad?"

"Awe," the red head placed her hand over her heart. "You have so much trust in him, I adore that."

"What?" I was getting the feeling that I was missing an important piece of information for this conversation.

"See, that's a key component for a relationship…"

Girl number two nodded. "I wish I could trust Ken that much."

I was going to side step the fact that the barbie look alike was dating a guy named Ken and go back to… "What?"

"You two are so cute together…"

Girl number one finished, "Who'd have thought Atlee Fiore would be a good boyfriend."

Hold up. "Did you say boyfriend?"

They both nodded.

"As in, my boyfriend?"

They again nodded and I burst out laughing. Like full on clutching my belly laughing. Me and Atlee… that was the best joke I'd ever heard. Until I noticed they didn't find it funny. The two girls weren't giggling, snickering or even smiling. They were serious. Was that why everyone suddenly wanted to talk to me?

"Atlee and I aren't dating."

"You don't have to hide it." Girl number two rolled her eyes, "The whole school already knows."

The whole school? Fantastic. Although I guess it made sense. Atlee did seem to pop up everywhere I was. So, everyone wanting to talk to me? This was all Atlee's fault. I felt a nut punch coming. Especially when Atlee strutted back over and kissed my cheek.

"Your oven mitts madame." He dropped the mitts on the counter and I seriously considered slapping the shit out of him with them.

"Atlee… these girls," I waved at the two staring at us. "Think we're dating."

He glanced over at them then smiled at me. "We do make a cute couple."

"Seriously?" I don't know why I thought he would help me kill this rumor.

"It"s okay, Baby," he threw his arm over my shoulders and pulled me into him. "We don't have to hide our love anymore."

Oh my God. And also… eww.

The two girls let out a sickening, "awe," while I considered possible means of murder.

"You already knew about this, didn't you?" I growled while struggling to get out of his hold.

"Of course I did." He pulled me back into his side. "I can't wait until Gio finds out."

Well, I didn't see this going well.