N O

S U C H    T H I N G

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| James' POV |

"I can't believe this is happening." Skylar mumbles from the passenger seat of my truck.

I roll my eyes but turn the radio up, as to not disturb my best friend in the backseat.

The sound of kissing soon becomes absent, as the music takes its place.

"Why are they with us?" Skylar asks while looking over at me. She is referring to Ian and Margaret who are currently attacking each other's faces. It appears that Mr. Briggs did a swell job on picking partners.

"Because, we're all going to work on the project as a group." I shrug as I pull into my driveway.

After school, Ian and I picked up Margaret first, and then went to pick up Skylar.

"Why couldn't we just work on this together, alone?" She asks after getting out of my truck and following me to my front door.

"Awe, you wanted to be alone with me?" I wiggle my eyebrows.

"If it means not having to listen to that-", she points toward Ian and Margaret, who broke free long enough to get out of the truck, "Then yes!"

"I'll make a note of that for next time." I smirk while opening the front door and allowing everyone to enter.

Ian and Margaret take a seat on the couch in my living room, going right back to sucking face. Skylar sits in the love seat away from the couple, while trying her best to ignore them.

I plop down right beside Skylar in the only available spot, still giving her my signature smirk.

"Would you care to engage as they are?" I tease.

"Please, I'd rather continue to watch that horror show over there." She points towards Ian and Margaret.

I laugh right before something semi-small jumps into my laugh. It must have startled Sky, because she slightly jumps.

"Sky, meet Rufus!" I smile wide, softly patting his head as he stares up at me.

Skylar instantly smiles as Rufus jumps over onto her lap and Skylar begins petting him. "Hi Rufus!"

Rufus turns his head for a brief second, and then begins attacking her with dog kisses.

Skylar laughs while pushing his head away and he decides he is going to lay on her lap. Literally, he plops down and doesn't move as Skylar continues to rub behind his ears.

"So cute!" She beams and I smile at her.

"I guess Rufus has traded me in for you." I playfully state while watching her.

"This is one smart dog." She coos while shooting me a smirk.

After a few minutes, a noise comes from the kitchen, so Rufus jumps off Skylar's lap to go and investigate.

Ian finally pulls himself away from Margaret, to her dismay.

"Mom! Is that you?" Ian shouts happily while standing up and darting for the kitchen.

"Why is Ian's mom here?" Skylar suddenly asks.

"She's not. He's in there with my mom." I reply.

"He calls your mom, mom?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Let's just say, he spends most of his free time over here instead of at home." I say, not wanting to tell her of my best friend's family-life. It's rather personal for Ian, and isn't my story to tell anyway.

"Hey kids! How was school tod-" but her question is cut off as she enters the living room and see's Skylar beside me. She pays no attention to Margaret who is scrolling through her phone.

"Hey mom." I smile and she raises an eyebrow at me. She points her gaze toward Skylar and clear's her throat.

"Oh, mom, meet Skylar." I smirk while nudging Skylar's arm.

"Hello, Mrs. Ryan." Skylar smiles sweetly, and my mom instantly smiles back.

"Hello dear." She greets.

"Um, James, you didn't tell me there would be female company over today." My mom crosses her arms over her chest.

"I, um... hey mom, I'm gonna have some female company over today." I sheepishly smile as she rolls her eyes.

"James, your father should be home in a little bit. He's finally back from his business trip." My mom gives me a pointed look, and I sigh.

"Alright, let's all go up to my room." I announce to the others as I stand up. "If my dad walks inside to all of us, he may just explode and we don't want that, now do we?" I sarcastically states while my mom gives me a tired look.

Skylar, Ian and Margaret all follow me up the stairs and I quickly lead them over to my large bedroom. I open the door and once we are all inside, I close it.

"Nice digs." Margaret comments while making herself comfortable. I almost want to scold her for lazily laying on the top of my bed, but I refrain for Ian's sake.

Skylar stands around, seeming completely uncomfortable, until I push my computer chair over to her.

"You can sit." I laugh.

"Thanks." She smiles, and takes a seat.

Ian sits beside Margaret, and I pull another chair from the other side of my room.

"So, you two, do whatever it is that you do. Sky and I will be working over here." I say. "However, if things get heated, Ian you know where the guest room is." I give him a pointed look and he only grins.

"You got it, boss." Not a second after, he and Margaret are attacking each other again.

"Are they always like this?" Skylar asks.

"Honestly, this is the first time Ian has ever talked to Margaret, so I mean no. They aren't always like this." I shake my head at my lovesick best friend.

"Oh, so Ian is just a player. Noted." Skylar comments.

"Why do you care?" I give her a questioning look. Does she like Ian or something?

"I don't, however my best friend might." She replies with a slight frown.

"Lena?" I ask.

Skylar nods and then leans in closer to me. "She's had the biggest crush on Ian ever since seventh grade." I whisper.

"Skylar... I hate to break it to you, but everyone knows that already." I say with a smile.

"What? How?" Her eyes widen.

"Well, other than the fact that it's completely obvious, I know how to read people." I shrug.

"It is really obvious, I suppose." She lightly chuckles. "I guess that's why Ian has never made a move. He's too busy with girls like Margaret Cummings." She adds bitterly.

"I don't think Ian wants girls like Margaret Cummings." I say. "I just think he's not too fond of commitment. He's had a pretty tough childhood as far as his family goes. He doesn't trust easy at all." I find myself confessing, but I don't give away any more information than that.

"Hm. Well, Lena is the most trustworthy person I know, if that counts for anything. Besides, she's head over heels for that boy." She shrugs.

"Maybe I'll casually talk to him about her." I smile.

"Really? That would be amazing actually." She smiles back, and I can't help but stare for a second longer than I should have.

She softly bites at her bottom lip while bringing her gaze to her open notebook. "So, this project. We should get started on it."

I internally sigh at her inability to look me in the eyes for a long period of time. I know there must be something working against her, and I intend on figuring out just what that may be.

_______

| Skylar's POV |

After we worked on our project for two hours, James gave Margaret and me a ride home.

We both waved goodbye to Margaret, and then James started to drive toward my house.

"You think Ian will pursue her again?" I find myself asking, for Lena's sake.

"I honestly don't know, but I'll try to steer him away from her if you'd like." James says, and I smile over at him.

"I mean that might not be cool to Margaret, but if you could, I'd be grateful." I smirk.

"Anything for you." He smirks back and I roll my eyes playfully.

James pulls into my driveway and gets out of the truck. He runs over and opens my door for me, allowing me to get out.

"Gosh James, I never realized how chivalrous you were." I laugh.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." He says.

"Thanks for the ride home." I smile up at him and he takes a step closer to me.

"You're welcome. Want to work on the project again tomorrow?" He asks.

I want to say yes, but I told Percy via text that we could hang out tomorrow after school, since we couldn't hang out today.

"I actually have plans with my mom tomorrow after school, I hope you don't mind." I slightly frown. I didn't want to lie, but I just don't want James to get mad if he finds out I'm blowing him off for Percy.

"No problem at all. Maybe this weekend." He smiles.

"Okay." I smile back as I give him a hug. I shocked even myself with that one. He hugs me back firmly and after a few seconds, we let go.

"Goodnight Skylar." James smiles while getting back into his side of the truck.

"Goodnight." I wave while opening the front door to my house.

After James drives off, I walk inside and close the door.

I place my bag on the floor by the door and just as I turn around to walk into the kitchen, I jump at the sight of my mother with her arms crossed over her chest.

"That looked like a pretty intense hug." She smirks.

"Mom!" I gasp while holding my chest. "Don't you know you're not supposed to sneak up on people?"

"This is my house, I'll sneak up on whomever I choose." She shrugs while following me into the kitchen.

"I thought you had work tonight." I say, looking at the clock. It's eight in the evening and there's Chinese take-out on the counter. I smile and walk over to it.

"Yeah, I called off. I wanted to eat dinner with my daughter, is that a crime?" She smiles.

I shake my head no with a smile of my own as we take the food into the living room. We set all of the food onto the table and sit on the couch. I reach over and grab the remote, but just as I'm about to turn the TV on, my mother snatches the remote and grins at me.

"Hey!" I whine.

"Not until we talk about James first." She instructs while grabbing some fried rice from the table. "Now spill. I want all of the deets!"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway. I love my mom and I love our relationship.

"Well sometimes he can be okay to be around, when he's not throwing out random lines or making fun of me for something." I admit. My mom nods with a mouth full of rice and motions for me to continue.

"He wants to be friends, but sometimes I just don't believe him when he tells me something. He's so arrogant at times and it honestly makes me want to hit him." I sigh.

"I think you like him." My mom states confidently after finishing her bite of rice.

"I do not like him. I enjoy hanging out with him sometimes, but I do not like him. At least not in that way." I shrug.

"You never like any boy in that way." My mom rolls her eyes yet again. "Why don't you ask him out on a date?"

My eyes bulge out of their sockets. "What! Absolutely not!"

"Oh come on Sky, why not?" My mom whines. "He's cute and you deserve someone to make you happy and take your breath away!"

"Okay, you've read one too many romance novels." I point my chopsticks at her. "I'm not interested in starting a relationship with anyone. At least not any time soon." I admit.

"Sky, sweetie, you'll never be interested with an attitude like that! You need to stop building your walls up higher, and you need to start tearing them down. I don't want you growing up thinking you need to be alone just to prove a point to yourself." She begins to lecture.

"That's not what I'm doing, mom." I sigh and then angrily take a bite of my eggroll.

"You know... I got a call from him today." My mom suddenly says, and I instantly know the 'him' she is referring to. I almost choke on my eggroll.

"W-what do you mean?" I cough while reaching for my iced tea to take a drink.

"He actually called me... asking about you in fact." She states with a look in her eye that I couldn't quite read.

"He's never called. Not once. Why are you waiting until now to tell me this?" I ask, completely dumbfounded.

"I just didn't want to ruin your day after being with James." She looks down at her food.

"Well, consider it ruined. I hope you told him that I never want to speak to him for the remainder of my life." I set my food down on the table and cross my arms over my chest.

"I actually told him that you were doing very well in school and that he missed out on a great kid." She says with a sad smile, still not making eye contact with me.

"Mom... are you okay?" I raise an eyebrow.

I noticed a shimmer in her eye.

"It's just... he called and only asked about you. He never once asked how I was doing, or anything about me. I mean I absolutely love that he wanted to know about you, but it still hurts." She admits. I feel a pain in my chest as I grab her food from her lap and place it on the table.

I scoot over beside her and allow her to rest her head on my shoulder.

"You know what mom? He may have missed out on me, but he lost his entire fortune the day he walked away from you." I sadly smile while I hear her chuckle.

"Thanks sweetie. I wish he saw it that way."

We sat there together on the couch for a while and eventually finished our dinner. We stayed up a little too late watching a movie together, and then went to bed.

I tossed and turned for a while, not able to fully fall asleep.

I kept thinking about him. Why did he have to call when everything was going so good? He hasn't called once since he left, and now he chooses to reach out to us. Who does he think he is?

He hasn't even sent me or my mom one single birthday card.

He is a coward and a fake, and I hate him.

And my mother wonders why I never want to open up to anyone. I will not let myself get hurt.

No matter what.