Playing with Assumptions

"Work with a partner if you need to. I expect you all to finish this ditto by the end of the period and turn it into me for a grade. You have approximately twenty minutes left, which should be plenty of time," Mr Gherardi mandates as he distributes the worksheets to the entire class. There are a couple of disgruntled groans that erupt from the students, but he simply ignores them. Once he is done passing out the classwork, he returns to his seat and goes about correcting the quizzes he had given a couple of days ago.

Blankly, Charlie looks down at her desk where the white sheet of paper lays. She has been in a foul mood ever since her brother's outburst back in the truck. The apprehensive stares and scrutinizing gazes people have been casting her way as soon as she had stepped foot onto school property also factors into the cause. The girl isn't sure she will survive the rest of the day in such an insufferable and suffocating environment; and if she does manage to make it out alive, the chances of somebody else not being able to do the same is extremely high.

Jillian hasn't said a word to her, only because she hasn't arrived to school yet. She's most likely in the middle of getting her teeth cleaned right now. Charlie is on the border of turning senile. Her patience is wearing thin. She has to vent to someone this instant, but that someone has to be her best friend. Nibbling on the inside of her cheek, she sends a message to Jillian, which advises her not to listen to anything anyone tells her.

Relief floods her system when she gets an immediate reply. Jillian is obviously confused, but once Charlie mentions Hayden she doesn't ask any other questions and responds with: I'll see you later.

"I would put that away if I was you. Don't want to get your phone confiscated, do you?" Ethan mutters, causing her to lift her head up. He nods to the front, where their teacher's eyes are scanning the room, and she traces his line of sight. Again, she listens to him, and stows the device into her pocket. After, her face is contorted in perturbation; it is filled with confusion as she wonders how her neighbor managed to snag the seat next to her.

In the beginning of class he was sitting at his usual spot with Mariana practically slobbering all over him. Nothing she hasn't gotten familiar with. So how is it that he's now perched beside her? He must have moved while she was lost in deep thought.

"What do you want?" Charlie mumbles. She doesn't bothering throwing a glare at him or altering her tone into a more hostile one, like she would have done if it had been anybody else speaking to her. In all honesty, she doesn't feel like picking a fight with him. She's got plenty of problems already on her plate. There's no room for more.

Ethan cocks his head to the side. He examines the girl's tamed and (slightly) demure demeanor, a sight that is foreign to him. He has been graced with Charlie's presence for a few weeks now, and this is the first time he is seeing her like this. He would be lying if he says that this isn't weird, because it is. It's like he's in an alternate universe or parallel dimension.

Growing up, Ethan has always been a rather perceptive and observant character. He can sense that there is something eating away at Charlie. His hunch says this has Hayden Knight written all over it, but he doesn't know if he has the right to intervene. This isn't his business. Perhaps it'd be best if he keeps his nose out of this one. Who cares if they are an item? It's not like Ethan likes her. They've just met! So why can't he stop thinking about all of this?

Charlie's eyes are trained so hard on the ditto that it feels like she can burn a hole right through it. Even math can't distract her, not this time. She is too embarrassed to make direct eye-contact with the boy, and hasn't a clue on what her next move should be. Her uneasiness is reasonable and completely justified, considering that just the other day she had blatantly told him that she was in no way interested in the school's golden boy. Now look what she's gotten herself entangled in! What would Ethan think now that she's suddenly dating Hayden?

She can't tell him that the two of them are faking it in order to get everyone off of Cecilia's back. It would go against the agreement she made. Never has Charlie broken a promise. She has always been a woman of her word and that's not going to change anytime soon. Only Jillian can know about the warped ordeal and the last time she checked, Ethan isn't Jillian.

Wait, why should she give a damn about what presumptuous thoughts might be floating around in her flirtatious neighbor's head? So what if she had denied her relationship with Hayden? It's not like the two of them are best friends. Yeah, she might have made a compromise with him and agreed on the truce, but that doesn't mean she has to report every single detail of her life to him.

"So you're dating that guy after all," Ethan snickers quietly, his tone sharper than what he intended. "Could have fooled me. You treat him like crap."

Charlie sits up and turns to address him. "That's how I show my affection. Didn't you know?" she drawls, sarcasm laced in every single word.

He grins. "Does that mean all of the times you physically attacked me, you were actually fawning over me and trying to profess your undying love?"

Her lips pull up, forming a tight and fabricated smile. He has got some nerve. "No, I really wanted to kill you," she confesses sweetly.

Ethan scoffs and becomes defensive without realizing it. "Why couldn't you just be honest with me when I asked you about him in the first place? It's not like I would have cared," he remarks. Then his eyes suddenly round in stagnation. "Oh god, don't tell me you were trying to spare my feelings." His expression becomes repulsed and he gags. Charlie doesn't appreciate the immature gesture, but isn't given the chance to speak as he continues. "Just because I hit on you once,"—he holds up a single digit to emphasize his point—"and brought you to my house, doesn't mean anything significant. You're not the first girl I've done either of those things for, so don't flatter yourself. I have impeccable standards for the girls I like, and you aren't even close to meeting them."

Instead of blowing her top, Charlie manages to remain level-headed. She doesn't allow her temper to get the best of her as she replies. "Did I say that you liked me?"

The boy pauses and clears his throat. "Well no."

"Then don't go around assuming, you pompous ass," she advises, her signature scowl now smeared across her face. She proceeds to lean in without hesitation and they lock eyes. "Because you're the last person I'd be interested in, Moron-dozo." The finality in her voice tells him she isn't joking and a thin layer of blush settles over Ethan's cheeks.

How humiliating. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions on his own. He's undoubtedly made a complete fool of himself. What's gotten into him anyways? Why did he say all of those things to her? "If that's all, can you leave me alone now? I want to work by myself."

* * *

After third period Charlie trudges to her locker, where she discovers a hoard of girls talking amongst themselves. She doesn't know what to expect and approaches the group with cautious steps. When they catch sight of her, they huddle closer together and fall silent. "Do you need something?" Charlie scans over their faces and recognizes a few of them from her freshman and sophomore years.

"You're so lucky, Charlotte," Taylor Finnegan, a girl she shared Composition 101 in the ninth grade with, gushes. The name printed on her birth certificate causes her to cringe involuntarily. She hasn't been called Charlotte in over a decade; she prefers to keep it that way. "I mean, who would have thought that you and Hayden would end up together."

To the unsuspecting Taylor's statement might seem like a compliment, but Charlie wasn't born yesterday. She can feel the venom behind the girl's words as she stares at her with a blank expression. "Okay, cool. Can you all make like bees and buzz off now? I have to get my books."

The smile on Taylor's face falters, but only by a smidge. "We just wanted to wish you two luck," she declares while the girls behind her bob their heads up and down, displaying their conformed thoughts. Charlie squints her eyes at them, still very skeptical. This is high school. One can never be too careful.

"Oh come on, Char." The unprecedented nickname leads Charlie to furrow her brows. She doesn't recall being close enough to Taylor for her to be using terms of endearments. "We're being sincere. We all like Hayden and as long as he's happy, so are we."

"Great. Still need to get those books though," she reminds.

"Just one more thing and we'll be out of your hair." Taylor's angelic attitude vanishes as the distance between them is minimized. "If you hurt him, you're going to regret it," she warns in a low voice, which doesn't shake Charlie the slightest bit. With a flick of her hair, Taylor struts off with her friends trailing behind her like lost sheep.

"Psycho," Charlie mutters.

"Should I even ask what that was about?" Jillian materializes next to her and Charlie pops open her locker.

"Take a wild guess."

"Hayden?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, his fan club keeps growing and growing. Are you going to explain to me what's going on?"

Charlie nods. "My house after school. There are too many prying ears and eyes here."

"This is going to be juicy, isn't it?" Her eyes twinkle with excitement.

"Of course. Just like a steak cooked medium-rare," hums Charlie.

"I can't wait. It's got something to do with the rumors about you guys dating, right?" Jillian adds on.

"Mhm. You'll find out the details later. Let's go to lunch now. The thought of steak made me hungry." She laughs.

The duo waltz into the cafeteria, immersed in a conversation about some madwoman Jillian had encountered at the dentist's office, and it's like there is a gigantic spotlight following them. Everyone has their eyes fixated on the pair and this time the girls aren't so oblivious. They take notice of the attention almost immediately. Charlie wonders why everybody is extremely aware of her presence today compared to the other days. She receives her answer when she spots a familiar figure sitting at their usual table.

"What are you doing here?" she grumbles as she plops down in front of him with a closed and forced smile plastered across her features. Jillian is also surprised that Hayden is at their table, but she manages to conceal her emotions from the crowd. Her best friend's reaction tells her she didn't see this coming either. So what exactly is going on? The awkward silence dissipates and the students return to their regular activities.

"I'm trying to make it realistic," Hayden whispers. "Since I couldn't drive to school with you this morning, I figured we can start by having lunch together." His eyes flit over to the third party and he smiles at her. "Hey, Jill. I hope you don't mind."

The first part of his statement echoes in Jillian's mind as the word realistic repeats itself over and over again. The wheels in her head start spinning and without another word she drags Charlie into the nearest bathroom. She ducks down and checks the stalls to ensure that no one else is inside. The coast is clear. Freely, she speaks her mind. "Charlie, are you and Hayden pretending to date?"

The spot-on inquiry catches her off guard. "How did you know?"

"When he said he was trying to make it realistic. By the way, he should be more careful. Someone else could have heard him," Jillian answers. "And I'm not an idiot. Do you think I believed those dumb rumors about you guys being a couple?" Charlie quirks a brow and her friend rolls her eyes. "Fine, one part of me did think that it could be true because of what had happened with the whole nurse lie, but you're my best friend. I know you'd never keep something so big a secret from me. Plus, I can tell when you like someone and you, Oscar the Grouch, do not like Hayden Knight. It's not in your nature. So what's going on? Why are you pretending to be his girlfriend and vice versa? I didn't know what I was expecting, but I can tell you that it definitely wasn't this."

"It's sort of a confusing story which I'll explain later. You can't say anything though, not even to Ian. For now, let's go back before people start wondering where we went."

---

Author's Thoughts: Is the pace of the story okay? I hope so! Boy is Jillian a smart cookie! And ouch Ethan, one step forward, ten steps backward. Way to go, Moron-dozo. Please leave comments and votes if you liked the update! Happy New Year's Eve!