7 Ensnared - Prologue (2/2)

She takes a moment to organize her thoughts before she begins speaking.

”I should have said this earlier but… I'm sorry about what I said at lunch.”

”Huh? What do you mean?”

She clears her throat to ready herself before she continues.

”It wasn't a good idea to bring that issue with his friend up while he was present. It was in poor taste, and I feel as if I was a bit impertinent in doing so. Between Jennifer and myself, we may have damaged his first impression of your friends.”

”No no no, it's fine! He's okay, really.”

She closes the book once more, clearly unable to focus on it at the moment.

”Even if he's fine with it, we did make a blunder of the whole thing today. I'm genuinely sorry that the two of you had to go through that.”

She clears her throat one more time.

”I'll find my own way of dealing with Sigmund, so please don't burden yourself over it. I can already tell that Chase is a good person. I'm relieved that you managed to find someone like him, and those are my honest feelings.”

She pats my shoulder.

”So don't let what I said today get in the way of your love, okay?”

”Momo!”

I instinctively reach out and wrap my arms around her neck, then press and rub my cheek against hers.

”H-hey, not so tight…”

She squirms nervously, clearly not used to this sort of sudden physical contact.

”No, it has to be this much. It's the least I could do. That's so sweet of you!”

”S-scarlet, really… It's fine. Y-you don't have to…”

”Oh, don't be like that. Here! Let's take a selfie to commemorate!”

”W-wha, don't!”

”Come on, don't ruin it. Here.”

I pull my cellphone out of my pocket and lift it slightly above our heads.

”Smile!”

”Mmnn…”

Though she seemed against it at first, she doesn't really put up much of a fight. She looks away from the camera in a futile attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Ahhh Momo, you're so damn cute… This is perfect!

Snap! Snap! I take the picture without giving her any sort of warning.

”There!”

I remove my arm from around her and take a look at the pictures.

”Ohh, it's cute! I'll send this one to you later.”

”Please delete those pictures.”

”Relax, you look great!”

I smile and slip the phone back into my pocket.

Really though, that's the most heartfelt thing anyone has said to me since I came to this school. And for it to come from someone as cool as you…

You really are an angel, aren't you?

But, I'm sorry for lying.

We're not actually dating.

I just really needed the clout from Jen.

...

The bus eventually arrives at my destination and I immediately find myself heading home to rest.

Though I hadn't planned it initially, naps slowly became an important part of my schedule ever since I entered high school. I suppose it's just a result of my other daily activities and how they affect my energy levels.

To go more in-depth, my alarm goes off at 5:00am every morning. Once I'm up, I'll change into something more comfortable and head out for my morning jog. The goal is to keep my body in shape in order to keep up with my appearances as one of the popular kids.

What's unfortunate about waking up that early though, is that home-work and social media usually keep me up until a little before 12:00am most of the time. The end result is that I end up spending most of my day at school somewhat sleep deprived.

It might be inconvenient, but if it helps me stay popular then I'm all for it. I have an image to maintain, and it's not as if my baggy eyes are a problem as long as I apply some concealer carefully enough. The only real issue with all of this is staying energized for the day, and for that I ran through a few ideas until I found the perfect one.

Energy drinks were the first thing that came to mind, but it felt counter-productive to work out just before having something that unhealthy to drink. The other caffeinated alternative was coffee, but mom didn't seem too keen on the idea for some reason and suggested I learn to make smoothies instead. They're a pain to make so I groaned at the idea at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, I realized something. Smoothies are supposed to be really good for your body, aren't they? That's like killing two birds with one stone!

To be fair, they don't work as well as energy drinks do, but what does, right? At a certain point, we just have to accept that caffeine is like doping for high school and college students. But that doesn't mean I'm hurting too much from not having any. The smoothies do help my mind settle down for most of the day. They keep me going during the time I take the bus to school, the time I take to socialize with other popular girls, the time I take to pay attention in classes, all the way up until I head back home to take my evening nap. I'd say they do well at sustaining me during school hours, at least.

Which leads us to the present.

Normally, after napping for a few hours after I arrive, I'd dive straight into my home-work to get it over with as early as possible. I still need to get in my study and leisure hours after all.

But there's a bit of a problem with that today.

”I can't focus on this stuff at all…!”

I've been going at it for the past 15 minutes, but as I thought it's no good.

My thoughts keep going back to Chase and what happened at lunch.

I can't seem to get it out of my mind. That was the first time someone had ever really stood up for me like that, yet alone a guy. Where were people like him during middle school? Is this the power of my popularity?

At the time, I was scared that Jen would cut all ties with me for it, but instead she seems to have gained some level of respect for the two of us. That kind of happy ending seemed so unreal to me at the time, but I'm relieved that it all worked out in the end.

I guess this means it wouldn't be such a bad idea to continue fake-dating for a while longer. I mean, it's not like I completely hate him or anything, so it should be fine right?

I look down at my home-work.

”…”

This is hopeless. There's no point in doing this.

I'm never going to need algebra for anything anyway.

I decide to give up on my home-work and fall flat on my bed.

In the end all I can think about is Chase.

And the mere fact that he's occupying my thoughts so much confuses me because there's so many other guys that I'm way more interested in.

Like for example, there's a really cute one who's been texting me since the school year started.

He's a sophomore called Jack Bourne and, you won't believe it but, he's the vocalist for a band! Not only that, but he's got a toned body and a jawline like Liam Hemsworth. The way he spoke to me when we first met was like… I don't know, it felt so magical to me. Like my heart had set sail on a romantic, disney-esque journey without me. I almost could not believe that he was interested in me at first, but it seems as if befriending Jen came with more perks than I'd originally thought.

However, there's one problem I can't seem to get rid of.

”I'm soooo bad at talking to boys…”

Even if it isn't face to face, that terrible feeling still wells up in my chest. I have this irrational fear that I'll say something completely absurd that'll make him stop replying to me. I couldn't live with myself if I messed up like that. And even that isn't as bad as how I feel in real life.

I guess that's why Chase has been on my mind all day. I've never spoken to a boy that much before. And that includes Jack, who I've been acquainted with since the first few days of school.

… Okay okay, I'll confess. All I've been doing is timidly answering whatever questions he's sent me in as few words as possible.

There's little room for error, but I don't think we've gotten anywhere because of it.

”Yea. No. Lol. No way! Ok.”

Along with some emoji I sprinkled in, those are most likely the only things I've been sending his way since we started texting.

Ahh, it's so embarrassing…

But!

All of that changes today!

After all the talking I've done with another boy today, I'm certain I'll be a bit better at it this time! I just have to be!

I open up my direct messages and scan my inbox, and sure enough he's there right at the top of the list.

”Oh! A new message…”

My heart's pace quickens.

I wonder what it'll say today? Is he finally gonna ask me out?

Oh my gosh oh my gosh, please ask me out. I promise I'll get over my complex if you do! Just, please!

With a shaky finger, finger I tap the screen to open up the conversation.

And right there, in plain text, he asks the question I should have anticipated to begin with.

”Are you really going out with Chase?”

”…”

”…”

”I COMPLETELY FORGOT!”

Rumors of that are probably all over the school by now! Of course he's heard about it too!

But the question is… Just how bad is it?

I minimize the chat and scroll through my twitter feed.

”…”

O-oh no… Everyone…

Everyone's talking about it!!

”Gah! I messed up! I'm popular now so of course my relationships would be news! This is bad! Ahh, what should I do?! I can't lie to Jack and say the rumors are fake, it'd be too obvious! Maybe I should tell Jen that Chase and I broke up after all? Nooo, that would just make me seem easy if Jack and I suddenly hooked up right after! Plus, I might not even be able to find the courage to talk to him normally! But then so what? Do I really wanna be stuck pretend dating Chase for the rest of high school? Even if he did help me out a bit, he's still a disgusting nerd so there's no way I should keep this charade up for much longer. But how much longer should I keep it up for? A day? A week? A month? What if Jack loses interest and finds someone else by then? Ahh this is all so complicated!”

As I ponder all of this aloud someone bangs at my door violently.

”Shut up in there Scarlet! Your father's watching TV and you're making a racket!”

”L-leave me alone mom! I'm having a crisis over here!”

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

In the end, all I can do is tell the truth, huh?

”Goddammit!”

”Stop swearing this instant! Do you want me to open that door?!”

”Eek! I'm sorry!”

I let it slip out… I've been trying not to swear like that because it isn't cute. I guess my entire demeanor just falls apart when things don't go my way, huh?

”Haaa…”

I rub my temple in frustration as I stare down at the message.

Well, this is it, I guess.

The end of the fairy tale romance that could have been my first romantic endeavor. The one I'd been so eager to make something out of.

That just goes to show that being popular won't make me a different person. No matter how much I try to fake it, I'm still the same old passive Scarlet.

I sigh and begin typing out my message.

”Yeah, we're dating.”

That should do it. Short and simple.

I hover my finger over the send button while double checking that everything is okay.

”Wait, maybe I can just tell him it was a prank.”

Of course not Scarlet, you idiot!

What has to be done must be done, and so I hit the send button.

”…”

”…..”

”Why did it have to happen like this?! What the hell what the hell what the hell what the hell what the hell?!”

I cover my face with my pillow and haphazardly roll around in my bed.

Come on, Scarlet! You should've thought this through!

This is hopeless, I can't believe I already messed up in such a hilariously awful way. I'm gonna be completely depressed tomorrow.

It's probably best for me to get some rest. I don't think any home-work or studying is going to get done at this rate.

Goodbye Liam Hemsworth. It was a short ride, but I'll miss you and your amazing jawline.

”…”

”Unless…”