All. Right. Folks. Good lord this update took longer than I expected. I got acutely ill for like three weeks, and then dealt with some lingering effects for a while. You can probably guess what it was, uhg. That, plus another injury almost immediately after I recovered plus this is a loooooooooong update, it took a WHILE to finally finish and get out. I'm sorry if the editing doesn't catch everything, this and my update for my other stories are quite long and I wanted to finally get them out so bear with me. I've also noticed my brain making a lot more mistakes when typing, mixing up words after being so sick, so hopefully I catch typos, but there might be more of them as it still seems to be recovering. Hopefully I won't hit another branch on the misfortune tree and go back to a more regular posting schedule.
Dpov
I knew, after the insanity with my phone after the photo of Lorelei and I blew up, that going back to school was going to be rough. The school had managed to keep the photographers away thankfully, but not for the first time, I had reason to resent my extreme height. Usually, it wasn't that much of an issue, but there was no sneaking into school for me, hoping to make it to my first class unnoticed no matter how closely I cut it to the first bell.
The moment I stepped through the front doors, everyone in the hall froze, going eerily silent as conversations died and all eyes turned towards me.
There was a couple of seconds where they all just stared, curious gazes latched on to me from the lockers that lined the hall.
Then whispers broke out as I made my way towards my own locker dropping off my bag, aware of the smiles and smirks.
I tried not to meet anyone's eyes as I attempted to turn left, heading towards my first class, physics, when Chelsea, an extremely pretty girl in my year, and head of the cheer team, almost shouted.
"Oh my god Dex is it true? Are you really going out with Lorelei Ellis? She's like my idol."
It was the question that started the flood. Suddenly, everyone was talking.
I was swarmed, pelted with questions from all directions as the crowd converged on me.
"How did you even meet her?"
"Is she as crazy as everyone says?"
"Does she really look like that in person? Or is it all Photoshop?"
"Leave me alone." I said annoyed, pushing passed a sophomore who was begging me to give Lorelei her Instagram, while one of my teammates tried to give me a high five. "I'm not talking to any of you. Go away."
Cameras were coming out, people trying to get videos that I was certain were going to end up on the internet despite nothing going on.
"I'm just trying to get to class." I said a little desperately feeling penned in.
The hallway was packed now, completely congested with what felt like every student in the school and it was suffocating.
"Get out of the way." Someone said irritably and I saw a familiar blonde figure cutting through the crowd, elbowing Drew who'd shoved a freshman on the hockey team to try and talk to me.
Predictably, the guy tried to swing at him, but pulled his punch and hastily backed up as Jenny managed to slip into the gap between them.
"Idiots." She muttered darkly. "Everyone, get out of the way! Principal Carson want's to talk to Dex."
It had some effect, people backing off and she grabbed my arm, smacking people impatiently with what appeared to be a rolled up pages of an essay.
"Hey! Move! We have to get to the main office!"
We managed to get out of the hall and into the science block of building that, comparatively, was a ghost town as it seemed like almost the entire student body had been sucked into the adjoining corridor.
There was only one girl who I thought was a senior like me, her light brown hair sun bleached, and pulled back into a ponytail as she shoved books irritably in her bag. Upon further inspection, I realized she was in several of my classes. I didn't know her name though.
She seemed to be looking determinedly ahead of her, her jaw set, as if intentionally avoiding locking eyes with Jenny and me, but it was hard to tell. She had head phones in, and who knows, maybe she was having a bad day, or just wasn't a morning person.
"Thanks." I said looking at Jenny who gave my shoulder a reassuring pat.
"No problem."
"Why does the principal want to see me?"
"He doesn't." she said grinning. "It just looked like you were about to be trampled back there, and you're too nice to hit people. So I figured someone had to pull you out. You've got physics first, right?"
She nodded down the hall towards a door at the very end.
"You're a life saver." I said pulling her into a hug and she laughed.
"No problem Dex. Tell your girlfriend I say hi."
As if in response to this, the girl slammed her locker shut and stalked down the hall towards that same physics class I'd been about to head towards.
"What's her deal?" I asked and Jenny frowned.
"I have no idea." She said thoughtfully. "I know Amber. Usually she's pretty nice."
Confused, I said goodbye to Jenny and followed after the girl noticing that it couldn't have been the entire student body in the other hall, as almost my entire physics class was already in their seats, and again, heads snapped immediately in my direction as I stepped into the room.
As the whispers began to pick up, I couldn't help but feel like knowing I'd have to turn up eventually was the reason most of them were here.
Only one person hadn't looked at me however. The girl in the hall had taken a seat in the far side of the room at a lab table in the front row and was staring out the window, still looking like a gorgon that had one of its snakes plucked loose like a gray hair. Between her and the window however, was an open seat, right in front of one of the stoner crowd that had already fallen asleep, the hood on his jacket pulled over his head.
Realizing this was the spot where I was least likely to be harassed, I quickly walked towards it and dropped into the seat next to hers.
She looked surprised at first, her mouth falling open a bit, clearly about to ask what I was doing. I usually sat on the other side of the room, partnering with whoever was running late that day and ended up in the spot next to mine. Her expression quickly shifted, however, when she remembered she was apparently mad at me, and I still had no idea as to why.
She gave me an indignant, resentful glare then huffed and rolled her eyes, her shoulders going rigid as she turned towards the board.
Confused at this reaction, almost certain I'd never spoken to this girl in my life, I looked at her, realizing the colors on her shirt were vaguely familiar. It was a soccer jersey, but instead of the logo I'd become fairly familiar with over the last few weeks, I realized it was from the local professional women's team. Their colors and their logo. Not the mens.
"You watch soccer?" I asked curiously.
"Martin Ellis is overrated and so is your girlfriend." She said nastily, her eyes narrowing as they shifted sideways to me, turning her head just the slightest bit to get a look at me. I had a feeling if she could have incinerated me with her gaze, she would have.
"I'm sorry?" I asked with an incredulous laugh, too surprised at this sudden attack to even feel defensive.
"Do you know how much was spent to sign him after she decided she wanted to play celebrity again?" she asked scathingly. "Meanwhile the women team's practice field flooded, because they couldn't afford to fix the sprinkler system, and his team won't let them practice on theirs."
"And this is Lorelei's fault?" I asked frowning.
"Money, jackass." She said with another death glare. "Do you even know how much his signing bonus was?"
"No." I admitted neutrally. "But even still, I really doubt the women's team fund much for the men's, or the other way around. So I'm not sure it's relevant."
Her jaw set and she made a disgusted noise as she turned back to the board, leading me to think she didn't have an answer for this, but she did mutter something under her breath.
It sounded like.
"Sexist asshole."
I wasn't exactly sure why, but that stung. More than I expected it to.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're on the girls soccer team." I said frowning.
"We came second in states last year." She said darkly. "Do you know what our uniforms are? Old jerseys from the boys team from the nineties, and they haven't even made it to play offs in the last ten years. None of them fit. It's like running around in a sports knit trash bag."
"I didn't know you guys went to states." I said doing my best to sound conversational. "That's awesome."
She clearly wasn't having it, however.
"No one did." She said through gritted teeth. "The school forgot to get us a bus. We had to drive ourselves and no one came to watch. And yet, your team made it to regionals and the whole school lost their damn minds, threw a pep rally, and tail gated just to see you get your asses handed to you on the first game."
I winced, remembering that game.
The other teams offense hadn't been as brutal as Jake, but there had been more of them willing to try to kill me.
I looked at her, how obviously angry she was, and couldn't help but think she had a point. The situation was massively unfair. We'd gotten new uniforms just last year, and from what it sounded like, her team had a far better record.
"Your name's Amber, right?" I asked.
She gave one, very stiff, nod.
"Look, I know it's not great timing to ask this seeing as you seem to hate my guts." I said quietly as our physics teacher, Mrs. Harrison, walked towards the front of the class. "But can you do me a solid and let me sit next to you in classes for the rest of the day?"
"You have got to be kidding me." She muttered, looking as if she wanted to murder me.
"Perfect, keep that up." I said gesturing towards her expression. I figured less people would want to try and talk to me if I was sitting next to a pissed off girl who could easily break their nose from a well aimed kick with soccer ball. "Just let me sit next to you for the rest of the day and avoid talking to people, and I'll make the lacrosse team come to your soccer games and tell them to bring their family and friends. That will help, right? If they all pay to come in and watch you play?"
She blinked, obviously surprised at the offer, then seemed to consider it.
"Fine." She said flatly, turning back to the front of the class, opening her notebook, and while I could tell she was trying to go for haughty, nonchalant, her posture had relaxed a little.
She hesitated for a second, then, as Mrs. Harrison started to write a warm up question on the board, asked.
"You going to bring your girlfriend?"
"I thought she was overrated." I asked raising an eyebrow and she glowered.
"She is." She insisted stubbornly. "But she'd draw a crowd. And more people might show up to our games the rest of the season, enough to get the athletics departments to justify getting us new uniforms before states."
"Lorelei doesn't really like drawing crowds, or attention." I said frowning.
Another eye roll as she looked away to her textbook.
"Could have fooled me." She muttered darkly.
"She did fool you Amber." I said and she shot me an uncertain look from her peripherals. "Lore's much smarter than anyone gives her credit for, much nicer too. And if you were nice about it, and she was here, she'd probably try to help you."
"I'll believe that when I see it." she scoffed and I looked at her in total disbelief.
Now the irritation was setting in, and I was so incensed by her attitude, I did something I rarely ever did, and pulled out my phone as the lecture started, sending a message to Lorelei.
'Want to do your good deed for the day?'
The response was almost instant.
'Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Are you sure you sent this to the right person?'
I grinned knowing by now, in Lorelei language, this meant yes.
I glanced up to make sure Mrs. Harrison was still struggling getting her lesson presentation loaded, and responded.
'Girls soccer team needs new uniforms. They're good. School is ignoring them. Situation is majorly messed up.'
Several minutes before she answered.
'Done.'
'That was fast.' I thought, but it wasn't until lunch, just as Cole had made Ellie laugh so hard that she spat chocolate milk all over Michael who was sitting across from her, causing us all, even him, to laugh even harder, when Amber approached us, her ice blue eyes narrowed as she crossed the cafeteria bee lining for our table.
"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously, and while her voice was harsh, there was a cautious curiosity in her gaze however.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, and she all but shoved her phone up my nose as she showed me a headline.
Martin Ellis and Team Members Pledge New Uniform to Local Team
"Is this real?" she asked and when I looked up from the screen, I saw there was a cluster of girls, all in athletic gear, watching us interestedly from a table on the other side of the room.
"Looks to be." I said glancing at the logo of the website, seeing it to be one from a well-known sports channel. "Source looks reputable."
"It says they're inviting us to their next team. To warm up with them on the field."
"Well that's good for you guys, isn't it?"
"Our coach just texted all of us." She said gesturing back to the girls, who I assumed was her team. "Said her email is getting blown up by college scouts after watching footage she posted on the school's website. They're coming to our next game."
"Then you'd better hope you win." I said with a shrug.
My friends, clearly confused, had been watching our conversation, eyes darting back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match.
She hesitated.
"Did you really ask your girlfriend to talk to her dad?"
Her eyes were still narrowed, but her expression had gone cautious. She looked embarrassed, and also a little grateful…
"I just told her you needed new uniforms."
"Why'd she do all this?"
I shrugged.
"You're going to be at the next game, right? Why don't you ask her?"
She didn't seem to know how to respond to this, but the bell signaling the end of the lunch period rang and I stood to throw away my trash.
"See you in study hall." I said referencing my next class, which she was also in.
I avoided everyone's gaze, except Jenny who I smiled at when she waved. Amber seemed to regain her ability to talk however, because she jogged after me and for the first time all day, there wasn't an air of hostility surrounding her when she spoke.
"Thanks." She said uncertainly, clatter after me up the stairwell.
"All I did was send a text message." I said, rebuffing the appreciation and she shrugged.
We stepped in the room and I took my usual spot in the back, putting my book bag on the spot next to me to save a seat for Cole as Amber dropped into the spot next to me.
"So how'd you end up meeting your girlfriend anyways?" she asked frowning, though she didn't look upset, just interested.
Before I could answer however, Cole had made it to our row and I was surprised to see him falter when his eyes fell on Amber in the spot next to me. To my very great surprise, he went bright red.
I felt my eyebrows shoot up as he quickly averted his gaze, and dropped into the chair next to me, immediately burying himself in his Spanish homework.
'How long has that been happening?' I thought glancing at Cole, then turning back to Amber who barely seemed to have registered him.
'Brutal.' A voice sounding like an amused Lorelei said in the back of my mind.
Gods, since when did I notice stuff like this?
"It's kind of hard to explain." I said pulling my laptop out of my bag and continuing to edit a schematic Michael and Ellie had proposed at our last club meeting.
"What? Manage to stumble across celebrity Tinder?" she asked smirking.
"Our parents know each other." I said realizing that in both the cases of my father and mother this was true, then frowned, wondering if I was supposed to be telling people even that much.
The truth was bound to come out eventually though, wasn't it? It was obvious how much Lorelei's father liked cars, and it wasn't as if the connection to my mother was a stretch. I seriously doubted mortal media outlets were going to stumble across the relationship the other half of our parents had. If they did… well, then we had bigger issues.
"You don't need to look so worried Dex." She said looking amused and leaning back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm not going to tell anyone."
Her brow furrowed when she caught my expression.
"What?"
"I didn't realize you knew my name." I said flatly. "I thought I was the 'sexist asshole.'"
Cole let out an unexpected snort of laughter and Amber had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Sorry." She said adjusting her ponytail a bit awkwardly. "I, uh, shouldn't have said that."
"Apology accepted. This is Cole, by the way. He's in the robotics club with me."
I nodded towards Cole who froze, his eyes going wide behind his glasses.
"Cool." Amber said with interest. "I'm terrible with technology. Totally fried last phone with Gatorade and washed my fitness tracker with my soccer uniform." She laughed. "Shattered my screen almost as soon as I got this one."
She pulled out her phone to show a demolished screen to emphasize her point.
Cole didn't answer. He looked stunned she'd even acknowledged him.
"You new?" she asked frowning. "I don't think I've seen you around before."
He looked away.
"No." he said quietly and while it was clear Amber had no clue, I could see he was slightly crushed.
"Oh." She said looking a little surprised, then looking back at me. "Hey you work at that tech repair shop, right? Jenny was telling me. You guys fix phones screens don't you?"
"We do." I said, and struck with a sudden idea continued. "But Cole's better at those sorts of repairs than I am."
His eyes darted to me, and I shot him a look. It was a down right lie. Cole could do this sort of job quite easily, but it was the sort of thing I could do in my sleep.
"You should drop by the shop Saturday morning, he's working then."
"Great." Amber said smiling at Cole and I had to admit, when she wasn't thundering around the halls like a giant, pissed off storm cloud, she actually was pretty cute.
"What are you doing?" Cole hissed when she'd gone to refill her water bottle.
"Awakening you to Amber's existence." I said frowning and glancing after her as she reached for the hall pass on the wall. "How long have you liked her?"
"I do not-" he started, but cut himself off when he saw my dubious expression. "Since she moved to my street in second grade."
"Second grade?" I asked incredulously and he flushed again. "Cole, why haven't you talked to her?"
"I have." He insisted. "One time, in middle school, she dropped her pen in the hall and I gave it back to her later in class. And well, I didn't actually say anything that time, but freshman year she kicked a ball into my face and it popped one of the lenses out of my glasses. I told her I was fine."
"Were you?"
"No, I had a black eye for a week. She didn't make varsity all four years for nothing."
"So she nearly concussed you, and yet you couldn't come up with anything to talk to her about?" I asked amazed. "Was it the head injury?"
"She's the captain of the soccer team!" He said going even redder.
"So?"
"They went to states!" He hissed. "Do you know how hard it is to talk to a girl like that? Smart and pretty, athletic and totally a badass?"
"Why do you care? You don't even like sports." I pointed out.
"That doesn't mean I don't like girls who play them. I don't see you out there wearing designer, but I don't hear you complaining when your girlfriend turns up in those crazy heels."
I frowned at this.
"Fair enough." I said with a shrug. "But I don't care what Lorelei wears."
He looked away.
"I wouldn't expect you of all people to understand, Dex." He muttered resentfully and I looked at him, confused.
"What does that mean?"
"I mean we can't all be massive, athletic, dudes who can solve any math problem or design flaw in a build just by staring at it long enough, and has hot celebrity bad girls running all over town to hang out with them and wish them luck before their games."
"Ok first." I said frowning. "Please never refer to Lorelei as that again." I shuddered, extremely creeped out. "And she was actually there because Jake wanted to kill me on the field."
"She was there, because she likes you Dex. I don't expect someone like you to know what it feels like to not know how to talk to a girl."
I thought back to my last relationship, how terrified, by the end of it, I'd been of Heather. The agony of stressing whether or not she liked me before we'd started dating, and how to ask her out.
"Listen." I said frowning. "The first time I spoke to Lorelei, I asked her if she wanted me to fix her boyfriends Xbox and called her princess, then spent the next several weeks telling her she was crazy."
"Oh that's right." He said clearly remembering the first time we'd run into Lorelei at their school for our lacrosse game. "God, why did she still talk to you after that?"
"I have no idea." I admitted. "But I do in fact, know what it's like to not know how to talk to a girl. And if I can recover from that, you can figure out how to talk to Amber."
"That seems even more unlikely." He said quietly as she entered the room and headed back towards our desks.
I tried desperately to think of a topic to bridge a conversation as she pulled out a book and started to read it, but couldn't come up with anything wishing Lorelei was here. She'd have thought of something, maybe even lock Cole into a supply closet with Amber like she did with Michael and Ellie.
I wasn't able to facilitate them talking, even worse, Amber asked me to be her project partner in our English class, which we had with both Cole and Jenny, even if it was probably just to make up for her poor behavior earlier.
"How is it." Cole started dejectedly as we walked towards the student lot, his eyes darting towards the football field where Amber and her team were running laps before their practice. "That you don't try at all and somehow all the pretty girls just seem to fall into your lap."
"It's a statistical anomaly." I said frowning while Ellie laughed.
"Let it be known folks," she said humorously, opening her arms wide as if she was about to make a grand announcement. "I am not a pretty girl."
"Shut up." Cole said rolling his eyes while Michael caught her hand.
"You are gorgeous." He said smiling at her as he hooked an arm around her shoulder and she beamed back.
"So what time is the game this weekend?" Jenny asked.
I'd invited her to the game Lorelei had invited us to out of gratitude for her help this morning, which now apparently Amber and the entire girls soccer teams had tickets to. Both Varsity and JV.
Not to be out done, by the men apparently, the local women's team had also invited them to a game, which was what Amber was most excited about. She'd come bounding up to me after the final bell grinning like a lunatic, which was probably why Cole was looking so down trodden.
She'd said hi to him, but he'd only managed a wave before she'd had to rush off to practice.
"Six." I said. "But we're all meeting at the arcade first. You should see if Amber wants to come."
"Ok." She said brightly pulling out her phone and typing a message I was sure she'd send to Amber to read after her practice.
"We're doing a girls night on Friday if you want to come. Going to make cookies and she's going to finish the dress she's making for me."
"Dress?"
"She's making Ellie a prom dress." Michael supplied and a funny looked crossed Jenny's expression.
"Ok…"
"You should still come." Ellie insisted. "Her house is crazy. It has a home theater and a hot tub. Shame the boys aren't allowed."
She winked at Michael who rolled his eyes but did, in fact, look disappointed.
"Is her dad strict?" Jenny asked frowning.
"No," Ellie said with a laugh. "But it's a girls' night." She continued. "Apparently one of the girls at her school has taken over the plans for it, and it's spiraled into this whole rich girl thing. I'm going to need another normal with me to survive."
"Ok." Jenny said surprising me by agreeing to plans. "Yeah, just let me know where to go."
And that was pretty much how my week had gone. I'd expected it to be miserable honestly, hounded by cameras and students wanting to ask about Lorelei, but I hadn't accounted for the interference of a dedicated group of friends, and an entire girls soccer program that Amber, was apparently running like a drill sergeant to get people to leave me alone. A fair amount of them had boyfriends on the guys soccer team, or in other sports and clubs. My team had caught on and started helping as well, and the school managed to keep the paparazzi at bay, under penalty of several law suits backed by the entire district if my coach's one on one with me was at all accurate.
Over all, my life was relatively normal over the next few days, with the exception of one, massive overall improvement.
I smiled as the door to the store opened to store and a gaggle of girls flooded into the store, looking like the most glamorous cluster of people probably within a fifty mile radius, maybe the entire west coast. And we lived in LA.
"Good god." Cole muttered eyes going wide as everyone in the store turned to stop and stare at them, wondering what the hell super models were doing in a device repair and second hand video game shop.
"Save me." Ellie muttered to Michael as she approached the counter her eyes wide.
Someone had put her in a bright yellow dress that went extremely well with her dark hair and tan skin. She did look really pretty, her hair down for once, curls, no longer trapped within her usual bandana, bouncing playfully with each turn of her head, and even more unbelievable, make up. Her nails, usually bitten, were painted a very pleasant shade of light purple. The only thing differentiating her from the herd of feminine energy was her expression. She looked as if she was still in shock.
"Oh no you don't." Lorelei said wearily detaching from the crowd, letting out a sigh and making a pained expression as one of the girls picked up a plush and said.
"Oh. My. God. Look at this thingy! It's so cute. Soooooo retro."
"If I have to put up with this, so do you."
The 'thingy' was a mob from a, decidedly not, retro game that, admittedly, had pixelated graphics. The game had only been out for a year, but even if the creature was cute, it could spit acid in the game that could drain your health bar in one hit if you weren't careful.
She looked gorgeous in a white sundress and sandals that tied up almost to her knees, her long dark hair tied back into a complex braid, like something out of one of the legends. Someone so beautiful that heroes were willing to go to battle just to prove themselves worthy for her to even look in their direction.
'Get. It. Together.' I thought as she crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at the group.
Knowing Lorelei, she'd stroll on the battle field and start smacking monsters with said sandals herself, before ever letting herself be relegated to granting favor to anyone who though they should be doing it for her.
"What's with the barbiefication?" I asked nodding towards Ellie and Lorelei sighed.
"We're going to brunch."
"Brunch?" I asked skeptically.
"Yup, and not even the fun kind with like, specialty French toast." she said dismally. "This is some ridiculous boutique place someone's mom owns, I dunno, it's super trendy and there's like no carbs on the menu."
"I don't think I'm exaggerating here." I said frowning. "But that's actually tragic."
"Big time."
"Then why go?" I asked her raising an eyebrow.
"You're really not getting this whole 'PR thing', are you Dex?" She asked shooting me a sidelong look.
"Is french toast really going to ruin your reputation?"
"No." she said moodily. "But this group won't be caught dead with it, and I'm supposed to be being good. So I can't even sneak champagne into my orange juice to get through it."
"That bad huh?"
"You have no idea." She grumbled. "I'm gonna be forced to order something with salmon, I hate salmon. At least this early. Then I'll have to take five hundred photos of it, and post it online." She made an unhappy noise. "The foods going to be gross by the time anyone wants to start eating."
She sighed.
"We just dropped Jenny off at the diner for her shift. I wish she'd been able to stay. Ellie and I are very out numbered."
"Your problems are sounding decidedly first world right now Lore."
"You cannot possibly complain about that." She said shooting me a look. "You are an honors student varsity athlete, that lives in Sunny California, looks like he can punch out a charging bull, that the whole world adores and thinks is the celebrity daughter of Aphrodite. You could get hit by a bus walking to your car, and people would still consider you the picture of good fortune."
"Am I?" I asked curiously and Lorelei's expression went a little surprised, as if she'd just played back the entirety of what she'd said in her mind. "Dating a daughter of Aphrodite that is? Or is that just more of the whole 'PR Thing'." I teased and she frowned.
I wasn't worried about being overheard. All of Lorelei's 'girlfriends' were too busy talking to each other to notice our conversation, and Michael was too busy picking his jaw up off the floor and goggling Ellie in a dress to notice even an atomic bomb going off. Cole had gone to hide in the back, probably not wanting to deal with so many customers at once.
"Since when are you such a smooth talker?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at me.
"That's not an answer to my question."
"You might be."
I grinned.
Just then, the store door opened and I saw Amber pulling out a pair of head phones only to freeze when she spotted the crowd in front of her.
She looked over her shoulder, then back into the shop, almost as if she'd thought she'd walked into the wrong store.
She couldn't have looked more different than the girls in front of her, long hair pulled back into a lazy pony tail, soccer shorts and a tournament t shirt along with running shoes.
I waved and she looked a little relieved, then made her way towards the counter.
"What are you running a flash sale?" Amber asked grinning as she spotted me. "Fembots half off?"
"Actually, it's buy one get one free." Lorelei said looking at Amber with interest.
Amber glanced in her direction only to do a double take when she registered who was there.
"Holy shit." She said. "Are you-"
"The hottest fembot in the room?" Lorelei asked her tone grave, an eyebrow darting up. "Yes."
"Sorry." Amber muttered wincing and looking away appearing a little embarrassed. "I'm like, incapable of not sticking my foot in my mouth. Thanks for the new uniforms by the way. They just got here yesterday. They're awesome."
"You must be Amber." Lorelei said neutrally. "And my dad did it. Not me."
"Well, you asked him too, right?" Amber asked uncertainly.
Lorelei shrugged, then shot her a wicked smile.
"Heard you think I'm overrated."
Amber's eyes went wide and Lorelei burst into laughter.
"I'm just teasing you. I actually agree with that statement."
"Oh." Amber said a little uncertainly before grinning a little. "Well, as long as we agree…"
She turned back to me.
"Where's Cole? I thought you said he'd be there?"
"I think he's hiding from the fembots." I said and she nodded as if in understanding.
"Cool, do you mind giving this to him?"
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and set it on the table.
"He's actually in the back if you want to talk to him. He can probably give you a better idea of how long it will take to fix than I can."
"Oh." She said sounding surprised again, then shrugged. "Sure."
Lorelei watched her go, her eyes narrowing, but she let Amber get out of ear shot before they darted back to me.
"What are you up to?" she said frowning. "Since when can anyone do anything better than you when it comes to repairs?"
I shrugged.
"Dex Cartwright." She said with a smirk, pretending to sound scandalized. "Are you playing matchmaker?"
"He's had a crush on her for years apparently. And she had no idea he existed."
"I think you're going to need a lot of help on this one." She said frowning after the girl. "That girl is even less tapped in to her romantic nature than I am. And that's saying something."
"Well then it's a good thing I'm dating a daughter of Aphrodite then, isn't it?"
She sighed.
"Are you going to make me go around setting up all your friends?"
"Jenny needs a date to the dance."
"And I'm supposed to what?" she asked skeptically. "Conjure one out of thin air?"
"Well you might have stolen her intended date." I said then added. "Who knew Ellie had so many suitors?"
She laughed.
"You could always take her you know." She smirked. "You're pretty quickly being touted as the most eligible bachelor in town."
"I think I'm ok, but maybe an actor would lift her spirits. Or a pop star. If he's really cute."
"Have any more demands?" Lorelei asked patiently, but she'd rolled her eyes.
"About prom?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, actually. I do."
"And they are?"
"At least one dance, and a few photos, or, better yet. Ditch your date and come with me."
"That's scandalous." She said with another smirk and leaning over the counter her eyes glittering. "What would Ellie say? You two are friends."
I looked over at Ellie who was smiling as Michael showed her some of the older, classic games we'd just had traded in, looking to see if there was anything she wanted.
"I think she'll be ok." I said turning back to face her.
"Are you seriously asking me to your prom?" she asked and while her tone made it sound as if she thought it was lame, her expression didn't.
She looked excited, ecstatic even, despite the fact she was trying to hide it.
"Yeah." I said. "And I'm seriously hoping you say yes."
"You are such a dork." She laughed.
"You're dating a dork."
She shook her head, but she was still smiling.
"Yeah, I'd love to go with you."
"Good to know."
"But you're the one breaking Ellie's heart about it, not me."
"Fine." I said amused.
She straightened up.
"Now if you'll excuse me."
"Where are you going?"
"You clearly need help with this who match maker plan of yours." She said heading towards the back room. "Apparently I've got a long honey do list to get all your friends fixed up for prom."
She made a vague wave with her hand, obviously well aware of the fact that I, and most of the room was watching after her.
"Might as well get started now."
Lpov
"Cuuuuute." Celeste said and I looked over to see she'd snapped a photo of Dex and I as we talked, waiting for the game to get started.
We were in one of the private boxes in the stadium that they left open for friends and family of the team. I had to admit, of all the perks being back in the good graces of my father's career, this was one of the best. The selection of food and drinks was much better here than in the rest of the stadium, and it came to you. Plus, it was all free, for so none of us had to go through the awkward song and dance of not wanting the rich girl to think she was expected to pay.
"This one is totally going on the thread." She said opening her socials.
She'd already posted a selfie of both me and her, her and Jake, a distance shot of my dad talking about how some people 'aged like a fine wine,' gross, and now was apparently determined to post the photo of me and Dex as well.
Say what you will about her work ethic in our classes at school, the girl was a social media work horse, a bit of force of nature for internet fame. Howard was delighted with her.
He'd joked about hiring me, but had actually offered her an internship over the summer, which she'd requested have the most ridiculous of hours as well as an insane hourly rate, to, as she put it, 'get Daddy off my case about not having a job.'
It was me, Jenny, Dex, Jake, Celeste, Michael, Ellie, and Cole in the seats behind an opening in the wall that faced the field, along with a few other family and friends of team members rubbing elbows with people in high up positions in the franchise. It was the perfect spot, close to the field, but far enough to see the entire game, right on the center line on the home side of the stadium for the fans.
A part of me had to admit I'd missed this view over the last couple of years, but it did come with a price.
The cameras scanning the crowd focused on the box again for the fourth time, making no attempt to hide the fact it was zooming in on me and Dex, throwing our image on to the jumbo screens around the field.
I felt my jaw set, but smiled and waved, as Dex, looking a little wary looked at the nearest screen.
There was a low roar of applause and cheering scattered chants of 'Ellis, Ellis, Ellis' spreading through the crowd like wild fire.
"Man, it really isn't a joke how much attention you get." Cole said taking a bite of churro he'd dipped in chocolate sauce and giving me a curious look.
"No." I said shaking my head as the camera finally switched back to scanning through the crowd. "Especially not here."
"I don't know what you're complaining about." Celeste said frowning and thumbing through her phone. "It's positive coverage, that's what you want, isn't it?"
I didn't answer, but she didn't seem to require one.
"Jake, get me a soda." She said still looking at her phone.
His arm was around her shoulder and he looked content to have it there. He looked just as content, to ignore her.
"Hellooooo?" she said looking up from her phone and shooting him an incredulous look.
He laughed at her.
"Can't you order a drink here?" Ellie asked confused.
"Not the organic strawberry soda." She said as if this should have been obvious. "They only have it in the stand on the other side of the stadium."
"Then you'd better start walking before you miss the start of the game." Jake said and she let out a groan.
"Pleeeeeaaaaase." She pouted and he smiled then tapped the bottom of her chin lightly.
She blushed.
"There we go gorgeous."
He stood and stretched, then shot her a wink, making his way towards the exit and she scowled after him.
"I hate him." She said turning back to me.
"No you don't." I said quietly.
I wasn't exactly the most in tune with my 'inner goddess of love' like the rest of my siblings were, but even I couldn't miss Celeste's rapidly softening emotions towards Jake into something more than an appreciation for a massive muscles and a handsome face. But if that wasn't enough, the way her cheeks had flushed when he'd smiled at her, and the way she'd bit her lip and watched as he'd stepped through the door and out into the main part of the stadium would have been obvious enough.
"He's the worst." She insisted. "Since when do I ever have to ask nicely for things from a guy?"
At this, I saw Ellie shoot Celeste an incredulous look, but I was uncomfortably aware of the fact I thought I could relate a little to this.
It had been a bit of a shock when I'd first spoken to Dex, and realized it wasn't going to be as easy as it usually was to charm people with him. In fact, it hadn't been possible to do it the way I was used to, the way the locket that was still stuck around my neck had made virtually impossible for most of the world's population to resist.
Even if I resented the power, it had been a brutal shock. Spoiled and entitled as it might have sounded, any slap to reality was a painful one.
"You don't have to ask nicely." I pointed out. "You just might not get what you want if you don't."
"That seems unreasonable." She said frowning, as if she thought I was trying to trick her. "I always get what I want."
I didn't answer this, but I noticed Jakes didn't have to pretend to ignore her to get a thank you upon his return.
"Logan looks pissed." She said, her grin cat like as he jogged onto the field with my father and the team, Amber and her crew alongside them. All of them beaming in amazement as they made it on to the field.
"Good." I muttered darkly.
Celeste was right. Logan did look irritated about something and she nestled comfortably in her seat next to Jake who's arm had made it back around her as his gaze drifted towards our crowd in the box.
"Let him sulk." Jake said mildly, but an obvious sense of satisfaction curled the corner of his lip and Celeste giggled wickedly.
"We should go on a double date after the game." She said looking at me. "Post a bunch of photos. You know it would drive him crazy."
"No." I said stiffly.
I'd noticed by this Dex's gaze shift curiously towards us, but I pretended not to notice instead feigning interest as Amber passed the ball with my father, both of them occasionally stopping to take a few photos with players from either team.
I didn't want anything to do with Logan, and that included provoking his irritation. I didn't want to think about him at all.
Dex was right.
The girls were good, excellent really, and I felt a twinge of jealousy when I saw my dad put his arm around Amber's shoulder, captain and captain for a photo, before passing with her a few more times, obviously gauging her skill level before kicking it up for her to volley a shot.
She beat the keeper and several people cheered, even if it was just a warm up.
He smiled.
He looked… impressed. Proud, even.
It made my heart thud to a painful heart stop, then fall through the floor.
"You ok?" Dex asked leaning closer to me and I nodded.
He glanced at the field and seemed to understand almost instantly.
"You didn't ever play, did you?"
"I did, when I was little."
I wasn't bad either. Actually, I was pretty damn good considering the whole demigod thing and who my father was, but the second anyone saw the name on the roster, or recognized me on the field, it made everything a lot less fun. I was either fouled or triple teamed. Accused of being favorited with play time, while being held to higher standards than anyone else. But most of all…
"I just… I didn't love it like he did." I said quietly. "Like I guess Amber does too."
"I'm guessing it wouldn't help, saying that there isn't a reason for you to be jealous."
"No." I said shaking my head.
For the first time in a while, the cold was back along with a bitter spiteful feeling that had me wanting to tear off the jersey I was wearing and chuck it in the nearest trash can, feeling like a total fraud.
Wasn't that what I was, after all?
I didn't want to be here. I was essentially being forced. I was here make everyone happy, only to watch my dad laughing on the field with some kid he barely knew, while I was stuck up here, watching and being watched. Having to sit tight like I was supposed to, stay quiet, smile for the cameras, like the perfect marketable little girl…
Anger and resentment flooded through, me and it had me wondering if I should abandoned this stupid match making idea with Cole, a person with whom she had absolutely nothing in common, and put Amber in the sights of my next heart break bonanza, when suddenly, the icy feeling was replaced by something heavy and warm, and strangely... comforting.
Confused, I looked up to see Dex had put his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me closer to him. Leaning my head against him.
"Lore, the only reason Amber is even here is because your dad wanted to do something to make you happy." He said quietly. "You might not be on the field, but out of everyone, you're the person he wants to be here the most."
"You're probably right." I sighed, a part of me not wanting to admit.
But the anger and jealousy that had spiked within me so cold and painful had already started to melt, and was replaced with something warm and comfortable. Like stepping out of a snow storm and into a blanket that had just come out of the dryer.
I wasn't exactly sure what emotion to assign it, but I knew it had almost nothing to do with my temperament, and the reassurance of Dex beside me.
It was then, as Amber and her team jogged off the field headed towards the seats on the sidelines that had been set up for them, that I spotted Cole, his eyes fixed on her. She was chattering excitedly with on of her teammates and the way he looked at her was as if she was a different species from the rest of us. Something better and more beautiful than the rest of the world. Like she was the embodiment of my mother in mortal form, only, I had a feeling if Aphrodite did stroll onto the field, he wouldn't have even noticed.
'Gods,' I thought irritably. I really did want to help him out.
She was never going to notice if someone didn't make her. It was almost tragic, really.
While the players lined up for the start of the game, the cameras directed towards the box again. My head was still on Dex's shoulder and this time, when I smiled, it felt genuine, despite the fact that flashes were going crazy at this point as both photographers and fans tried to get a picture of Dex and I together, for once, actually looking like a couple.
It was strange really, that time I'd gotten the most attention all day, was when I found I really didn't care.
...
We ended up winning, but only barely.
Logan had had a terrible game, for him at least, which still meant he was much better than most of the players on the field, but the goals weren't as numerous tonight.
He barely spoke in the post-game interview that had tried to grab him as he was walking off the field, who then quickly zeroed in on my father as he made it to the side line.
We made our way down to the team room where Amber was accosted almost immediately by a few of the younger players on the team, who'd walked over to chat to her and her teammates.
She laughed and smiled at Stefan, one of the youngest players, not quite a starter yet but a super sub for sure, who'd seemed to take a liking to her during the pre game warm up.
'Gods what a mess.' I thought ruefully.
Amber was oblivious while Stefan was clearly still sorting out his emotions, Cole looked absolutely devastated.
I couldn't really blame him. Tall, fit, and good looking, with a tendency to actually pay attention to his appearance, Stefan was a bit of a force when talking to women. He was very good at it.
"I should probably go wrangle Amber." I muttered to Dex who raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything and was quickly dragged into a conversation with my father and Howard.
"Hey girl." I said putting an arm around her shoulder and throwing Stefan a warning look. "Love the new warm ups."
I nodded towards the joggers she and a fair amount of her teammates had thrown over their soccer shorts as the sun had gone down.
"You two know each other?" Stefan asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, she goes to Dex's high school." I said with just enough inflection on the last two words so that Amber would miss it, but none of the guys looking in our direction would.
"Right." He said with a nod, appearing a bit awkward. "I'll see you later Lore, nice to meet you Amber."
"Oh, yeah, you too." She said looking surprised at his sudden departure then back at me, frowning when she saw my eyes had narrowed after Stefan as he walked away.
"Did I miss something?"
"You missed a lot of things." I said frowning. "Do me a favor, would you? Cole keeps asking me about offsides, I don't think he gets it. Can you explain it to him? I just can't seem to make him understand."
"Sure." She said with a shrug, and I watched, smiling as his went wide eyes as Amber approached him.
Ok... it was kind of adorable.
"Still messing with people's heads then?" a voice asked and I closed my eyes, letting out a tense breath, before turning and glowering at Logan unable to believe he was speaking to me.
He'd been subdued since we'd entered the room, talking very little to anyone and I could tell by his expression he was regretting saying anything.
He looked a little conflicted, but there was something defiant about the glance he shot me before saying.
"Stefan isn't even twenty until the end of the summer." He frowned. "You're friends a senior, right? He's not a creep."
"He also has a habit of dumping whatever girl he's dating for the newest influencer in his orbit." I snapped back. "Amber's nice."
Alright, I didn't actually know that much about her, but still. He didn't know that, and there was no point in throwing her in the path of a famous athlete soon to hit his prime. That was asking for trouble.
At any rate, Logan didn't have an answer to this retort, or just didn't care to make one. He wasn't look at me, but across the room where Dex was now talking to Jake and Celeste. It wasn't until I was walking back to them that I realized the sick, ice like feeling that had been creeping sinisterly over me the moment Dex had let go of me after the game was rapidly draining away.
Uncertain, but feeling it could only have been one thing, I looked over my shoulder back at Logan who'd grabbed his bag and made his way towards the exit, but not before I could see his expression.
It was as clear as day.
Heartbreak.
As he pushed by me, I was uncomfortably dialed into his emotions. Bitter disappointment, regret, resentment even.
I couldn't help the stab of pity that went through me, but I looked away too angry to feel it too acutely. Not that long ago, I would have gone after him. Tried to fix what was wrong, for everyone's sake. But this was his own fault. The choice he made. And the sympathy died rather quickly.
"Stop looking so miserable Lorelei, you're gonna wrinkle." Celeste said reprovingly.
"Well I could always throw myself out a window when it starts." I said sarcastically and she gave me a thoughtful look.
"Or just go get botox like the rest of city." She shrugged. "Might as well try and hold it off for as long as you can though. I don't care how much money your dad makes. This is LA. pPlaces around here book up fast. Might as well avoid that stress as long as possible."
"Guess I have to rely on photoshop then."
She snickered.
"You know someone made a filter to make people look more like you." she smirked. "I tried it on Jake. The results were horrifying."
"Well of course." he said as if this conclusion should have been a given. "It's a pretty considerable down grade."
"Love you too, Jake."
He waved me away, and Dex's hand found mine.
Already there was talk of a party at one of the team's favorite clubs down town to celebrate the win, and while both Jake and Celeste seemed interested, I didn't need Howard's death glare shot in my direction to make me decline the offer when Stefan asked if we wanted to come.
It was the sort of thing my father always went to however, which was why, probably, the moment I stepped through the front door and saw a truly massive bouquet of roses set on the dining room table, I froze.
They were gorgeous, dark red and clearly very expensive. I spotted the tag on the ribbon around the vase they were settled in, and recognized the logo of a very luxurious florist in the city. The kind that celebrities and athletes used for the weddings, kind of luxurious.
They couldn't have been cheap.
'How on earth did they get in here?' I wondered glancing around.
Figuring my dad had a new girlfriend he was trying to impress and would be hoping to surprise after the party, I walked over to the table and looked at the tag only to be surprised at the text that was written on it in elegant, clearly hand written, calligraphy.
'No one, should be denied French toast for brunch.'
A jolt of shock went through me as I realized who these had to have been from.
I'd just reached for my phone, meaning to text Dex, when the scent of something warm and vanilla hit me, along with the sound of footsteps.
I looked up in complete shock to see my father step into the room, his hair a shade darker after a shower, in a long sleeve and sweat pants, not the sort of thing he would have worn if he was going out, and a kitchen towel over his shoulder, a plate in each hand.
When I saw what was on them, I was horrified to feel my eyes sting.
French toast.
And he'd clearly made it himself.
"A little birdy might have told me you had a disappointing start to the day." He said grinning a little as I just stared at him. "And that you might appreciate a night in, for once."
I let out a slightly choked laugh, walked over to my dad and hugged him.
"Lorelei, mon chéri, don't cry."
I hastily wiped my eyes as I let him go, feeling stupid and embarrassed, and yet, unable to stop from laughing again.
I couldn't remember the last time we'd eaten together not practically at gun point from Howard to be photographed, let alone when he'd cooked.
He'd gone all out too, bits of fruit and powdered sugar, all covered in a drizzle of caramel sauce, whipped cream dolloped on the side of the plate, mine in the shape of a smiley face like he'd used to do when I was a little kid. Before he'd been able to afford to have someone else cook everything.
Was it possible for your heart to hurt, but because it was happy?
He took a seat at the end of the table and I took the nearest one to his left. At first, I thought it might be awkward, wondering what on earth my father and I were supposed to talk about, but when his eyes landed on the roses, he said.
"You know I really like that kid." I could feel his gaze settle on me, and I felt a flush creep up my face, but I kept my eyes firmly on my plate. "Smart, seems to have a good head on his shoulders, useful, knows how to fix things, an athlete."
And while he didn't say it out loud, I could practically hear him mentally adding, 'knows how to deal with you.'
"Yeah." I said quietly. "He's nice."
My father hastily repressed a snort as well as what I assumed was a comment he'd thought better of making.
'Since when do you care about nice?'
I wasn't sure he could really blame him. Not after my recent history, and my father himself, wasn't particularly prone to be attracted to 'nice' either. Sure there were plenty of gorgeous girls that were nice, and some of the ones he'd dated were nice. Very nice in fact. It just wasn't at the top of his list of priorities in a partner. Probably why he'd managed to capture the attention of one of the vainest gods in the entire pantheon. And that was saying something considering it was the gods after all.
"I hope he sticks around." He said nonchalantly, but I could hear the subtext.
'You should keep him around.'
My father wasn't naïve. He wasn't like some parents, who couldn't bare to think of their little girl as an object of affection or romantic interest to anyone. He knew who my mother was, and what it meant. My father was more than aware that when it came to my relationship status, I, with my abilities, was likely to be in complete control of the situation. He probably thought I was now, maybe even assumed I was just toying with a new guy until the novelty wore off, which might have been why the felt he need to stamp the 'seal of approval' like he had.
But it had never been like that when I actually liked a person. It was practically uncharted territory, and growing part of me felt like I was stuck in a car speeding down the high way, after realizing the breaks were out and I was rapidly losing control.
But despite anxiety knotting my stomach, and a part of me wishing it all would just stop, everything just seemed keep hurtling forward faster and faster, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know how this was all going to end.
Given my history, crash and burn was very likely.
But I couldn't seem to make myself bail from the car, even though I knew I was getting to the point where bailing was no longer an option. Might have even passed it already.
'Then again.' A small voice in the back of my mind whispered, and I couldn't help but smile a little as it said. 'Dex likes to fix cars, and he is fire proof…'
But was it fair to ask Dex to deal with that?
My smile faded.
I pushed a blue berry guiltily on my plate, knowing that it wasn't, and knowing I was probably too selfish to care.
This was all going to blow up at some point, I knew that, and I didn't know how to even begin to try and stop it, but I just kept going down that road, well aware I was dragging others along for the ride.
It wasn't fair to him, I knew that, but I couldn't help myself. I was in too deep at this point. I was too weak to let him go. Once again I was in over my head, out of my depths completely and it was all because of a guy.
Why did I keep doing this too myself? Why couldn't I seem to learn this lesson? He was, after all, just a guy for gods sake…
'A guy that my friends likes...' I thought hopelessly 'That my father likes, everyone on the whole damn internet and media outlets likes.'
Even I liked him. And I didn't think it was possible for me to like someone this much. Not even Caleb. And I'd practically ruined my life over him.
I didn't even want to know what sort of catastrophe I was headed for in reconciling everything I felt about Dex and the situation with my mother, and if the fallout caused by Caleb in my life was anything to go by catastrophe seemed like the right word. When I'd let my emotions run wild about what Caleb had done the only person who'd been the most brutally affected was me. But if I managed to screw Dex up in the process too, or have him get caught in the cross hairs my emotions always seem to be training on the best and most cared for things in my life, I don't know how I would survive that. Hurting him, even worse, that hurt causing him to want nothing to do with me anymore. If my life had been dumpster fire after Caleb. I was pretty sure crazy celebrity daughter Lorelei would go straight up super nova to try and hid from the fact that it was all her fault. Screwing up the guy she cared so much more about than a person she'd thought she'd loved.
But none of that ever seemed to matter when he was in front of me, or I saw his name pop up on my phone. I had absolutely no self control. I was pathetic. Just as my mother thought. Completely ruled by my emotions inspired by others, rather than using the ones inspired in other people by me for my own advantage. I was the person my siblings sneered at or felt sorry for. Manipulated by feelings, falling into such a stupid trap. They were going to disown me the second I stepped into the cabin next time I was at camp. And honestly, at this point. I deserved it
But I didn't care. That was the scary part. Despite everything that had happened with Celeb, I still just didn't care.
My mother was right. I hadn't learned the lesson at all. And I didn't care. I just wanted him. No one but Dex.
And as I looked at the flowers, then back at my father, knowing who'd orchestrated all of this. I knew there was no hope for me. There was no getting off the ride anymore. I was locked in even though I was pretty sure I knew where this was headed.
It was a complete disaster in the making, but I just couldn't do what I had to to make sure it didn't go off. I was too selfish.
My father had said he'd hoped that Dex stuck around, and while I knew they shouldn't have, I couldn't hold back the words as, quietly, I agreed.
"Me too."
