Chapter 12

The next day I took my time getting ready, mindful of the aches from my wrist. The brace was still on and it was starting to itch. It looked warm and sunny out so I carefully pulled on a white skirt that ended halfway up my thighs and a thin, long sleeve shirt. It was black and helped the outfit seem more decent and reserved. 

I hadn't showered the night before, afraid to leave my room, so I pulled it up into a ponytail. My face was free of makeup until I covered my under eye circles with concealer, swiped on blush to hide my pale skin and mascara to liven up my eyes.

I grabbed my backpack on the way out and saw Harry sitting at the dining table, a bowl of cereal in front of him. "You don't need to wear a skirt to impress the boys Maddie."

His words elicited a shiver of disgust. "I'm not wearing it to get noticed. It's warm out."

"Just like your mother," he muttered and went back to eating. 

My phone dinged with a message and I saw Harry narrow his eyes. 

I'm here.

A smiled made its way to my lips and I opened the front door without saying anything else to Harry and headed downstairs. He was waiting in his car out front and I hopped in and set my things down.

"You're pretty chipper for a Tuesday morning," Ace told me, looking suspicious.

I turned to him with a light smile. "Is a girl not allowed to be happy?"

"Not when there's still a whole day of school ahead of her," he rolled his eyes at me but then glanced down at my arm. "What did you do to your wrist?"

For a moment, I thought about telling him. I thought about Ace wanting to help me and take me away from Harry and his anger. But instead I forced a blush. "I tripped on the stairs taking out the trash last night and landed on it wrong."

He eyed me for a moment but when he decided I was telling the truth, he smirked. "Only you, klutz."

"I thought I was sweetheart?" I asked, to get his mind off my wrist but to tease him a little as well.

"You are sweetheart," he paused, "sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes this time and told him to start driving. If we kept this banter up, we'd be late to school; and I would not be having that. 

"So, your family leaves this weekend right?" I asked him, not knowing what I was starting. 

He glanced over at me quickly. "Yeah."

I sat there for a couple more seconds in silence. "So, less than a week until we break up," I told him, making air quotes around break up. 

"I guess so." Ace was suddenly quiet; which was unusual for him. But I had gone quiet too. "We'll still be friends right?"

"I didn't know we were," the words weren't meant to be mean. But they sort of came out that way. 

I could tell by the look on his face that I had hit a nerve and he was upset. "What do you mean we aren't friends?"

I simply shrugged, "I don't know. This whole thing has been confusing."

"How?"

I groaned, "because, we met, you fake asked me out and then we started fake dating. It's all just a bit complicated."

He shook his head. "It's really not. You became my friend the second you agreed to help me out. It was a favor only a friend would have stuck to."

"Well okay, we're friends then," I told him, my voice going up an octave. 

"The fact that you didn't know in the first place says a lot Mad," Ace complained. 

I tugged on the edge of my skirt and looked down. We were in complete silence except for the radio. It played a song I didn't recognize. For the rest of the car ride to school, the air was tense. Neither of us spoke but Ace hummed to the songs that played. 

Almost ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot and he turned off the engine. Ace made a move to open his door but I stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned to me, awaiting what I had to say. 

"Are you mad at me?" I finally asked him. My voice was small and mousy. 

He sighed a little and sat back all the way in his seat. "Should I be?"

"I don't want you to be angry with me," I told him truthfully. 

"Then I won't be mad."

I shook my head. "Ace," I stopped. But he didn't say anything so I continued. "If you want to be mad at me, then be mad. I don't control your emotions, nor do I want to."

He just shook his head and looked anywhere besides me. "I'm not angry with you Mad, I just can't believe you still don't get it."

"Still don't get what?" I asked him, and my voice went up in volume. 

But he said nothing; he just got out of the car and grabbed his backpack. He started walking toward the school, without looking back at me. So I ran after him to try to catch up. 

We both ended up in class but we didn't speak to each other. Kimmystill wasn't here, the flu was kicking her ass. I didn't have anyone else to talk to. 

He sat in front of me, as usual but didn't make any attempt to turn around and make conversation. The whole thing was sort of ridiculous. What I had said was stupid, yes. But I truly hadn't meant that I didn't want to be his friend. 

When the bell rang, he didn't even bother to wait for me. He just got up, and left, going to his next class. I let out a small sigh and Karlie, a girl who sat close to us, pulled me aside. 

"Did you and Ace break up or something?" She looked sort of upset about it. 

I shook my head, "nah, he's just mad at me."

She gave a small snort, "why?"

I shook my head and shrugged. I couldn't exactly tell her it was because he thought I didn't want to be his friend. That pretty much went against what we were going for with the whole, fake relationship thing. 

At lunch, I didn't even bother to go the cafeteria, knowing Ace wouldn't want me there. I resorted to walking around the halls, pretending to do something on my phone. About ten minutes into lunch, Ace texted me. 

Where are you?

I stared at it, confused. Why did he care?

Walking around. I decided was a good answer. 

Well, come to the cafeteria

I rolled my eyes. Was he mad at me or not?

But you're mad at me.

It took him a minute to reply. 

We have a reputation to keep up Mad.

Right. Of course, it wasn't because he wanted me there. It was all for his little act.

A reputation. Right. 

I sat down against the lockers I was walking past. 

Don't be like that. You're the one who didn't want to be my friend. You can't be mad at me now. 

I didn't even respond even though it was a petty move. A few minutes later I heard a sigh and then someone sat down next to me. I didn't need to look up to know it was Ace. 

"You didn't answer my text," he opened with. Being the child I was, I didn't answer him. "This isn't fair. You don't get to be mad at me. I was mad first. This whole ignoring me thing is childish."

I scoffed. "I was mad first," I mocked. 

"Fuck this Mad. Why are you angry? Talk to me; don't just ignore me."

I stood up and started walking to where my locker was, across the school. "I've just realized that I don't like being used."

"And I'm using you?" He asked, in total disbelief. 

I stopped and looked up at him. "Don't look so surprised. We have a reputation to keep up? That was a low blow Ace."

"It was true," he defended. 

"And that's not using me?" I came back with. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when what I said dawned on him. "I get this whole thing was a favor to you but what do I get out of it? This whole favor seems really one sided if you ask me."

I kept walking and he followed. "Are you really that selfish to ask for something in return? It's what friends do Madison."

Oh hell no. 

"We weren't friend when you asked Ace!" I whisper yelled at him. "And as for the selfish part, thanks."

There was a pricking feeling behind my eyes but I refused to cry. "So, what? Are we calling this whole thing off?"

I shook my head. "I don't know Ace. I'm mad at you."

"For what Madison?" His voice rose. 

I saw my locker and sped ahead of him and started opening it angrily. "For calling me selfish, for thinking I don't want to be your friend, for using me!"

"Maybe I should have never talked to you in the first place. Then this whole thing never would have happened and you could still be living in your self absorbed bubble," he yelled, but not loud enough to alert anyone. 

I grabbed my things and started heading toward the front of the school. If he was so angry, I wondered why he kept following me. The prickly feeling was back so I knew I needed to get out of there quickly. 

"Where are you going?" He asked me as soon as we were outside. 

"I'm taking my self absorbed ass home Ace," I cried out. "I hate fighting with you and I'm done acting like I'm okay with it."

I sped over to where my car had been parked yesterday and started to unlock it. There were angry tears mixing with sad tears on my cheeks that I didn't want Ace to see. I almost made it into the car when Ace spun me around, using my good wrist. 

He looked as if he was about to yell at me some more but stopped completely when he saw my face. "Mad?" A silent way of asking if I was okay. 

But another tear fell down my cheek for an answer. Instead of saying something about me being selfish for crying, he yanked me forward until I was wrapped completely in his arms. 

He caged me in but no matter how warm his chest felt again my cheek, I was still mad. So I tried to pull away, resulting in him hugging me tighter. 

I let him hold me for a few seconds before breaking away with a sob. I made a move to jump into my car when I felt his hand gently grab my wrist again. I was breathing heavily when he turned me around. Just the feel of his skin on mine was making me crazy. 

I wanted to relish in the sensation until he clenched his jaw, making up his mind about something. He pulled me forward, his eyes never leaving mine and I felt his lips meet mine. 

I was too stunned to do anything about for one, two, three seconds. But then, I closed my eyes and kissed him back. I had no idea what I was doing. Ace was my first real kiss, not counting ones from kindergarten. 

My lips moved against his and his fingers let go of my wrist and moved to my cheek, wiping the wetness from my tears. I sunk my hands into his wild hair and lightly tugged when I felt its softness. 

Ace leaned me up against my car and continued to kiss me. His tongue met mine and all thoughts vanished. 

Well this is a good way to stop me from being angry. 

I briefly wondered if that's why he was doing it, kissing me. But I felt as if not even Ace was stoop so low. So I let myself enjoy it. His lips were soft but moved with a roughness I didn't realize I liked. His free hand moved to stop by my waist, pressing it against the car. 

I hummed in response to his hand moving to my hair. I moved mine down his neck and over his back, stopping at his waist. 

I wasn't sure how long the kiss went on. It could have been a minute or a few years. But when he pulled back, I couldn't even open my eyes, being so dazed by his lips. 

My breathing was fast and ragged, just like his. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that Ace's were still closed. His lips were tinted red from my mouth and I couldn't help but stare. 

But then his eyes opened and I looked up into his green orbs. He was so much taller than me, he had to bend down to kiss me. His body was still bent as he looked down at me that when he straightened, I had to crane my neck a little to look up at him. 

I was about to say something to him, not even knowing what, when I heard the bell ring in the distance. 

"You still want to go home Mad?" Ace asked, his voice much huskier than before. 

I shook my head, "no, I think I'm good." My voice sounded like a squeak, making him smile. 

"I'm sorry about what I said. You aren't selfish or self absorbed. I was just angry. I didn't think you wanted to spend time with me after this was over and it killed me," Ace whispered, starting to play with a strand of my hair that had come loose from my pony tail. 

I nodded, "I'm sorry too. I honestly didn't mean to make you think I didn't want to be friends with you. I do, I just didn't know how to express myself."

"Well, I think you just did," he told me and I blushed. "Come on sweetheart, you aren't one to be late to class."