"Can I borrow that lip gloss?" Sadaf asked Mi Yun, who was checking herself out in Sadaf's locker mirror.

"Here." She passed the tube of lip gloss over to Sadaf, who gladly took it to apply some on before continuing to use her eyeliner.

She was doing her makeup at her locker, something she did every morning.

Mrs. Bagheri didn't approve of makeup because according to her, it broke hijab. That never stopped Sadaf from getting dolled up though. She said she wore it for herself, not for male attention, and that was perfectly fine in my eyes. There was nothing indecent about a woman looking good for herself.   

"Brice asked me for a pencil yesterday, and we talked for a couple seconds after that," I told the girls, and they peeked over at me.

"Wow." Mi Yun bobbed her head, looking impressed. "That's progress."

I finally mustered the courage to start sitting beside him. We didn't talk much, but I was gradually getting there. It was only a matter of time before we transitioned to having full-blown conversations.

"I don't get it, Es." Sadaf shut her locker closed with her gaze on me. "It shouldn't be this hard to talk to some guy."

"Patience," I said. "It's a virtue."

"It's been more than a month, but you hardly talk to him," she pointed out. "Maybe it's a sign."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a frown.

"Maybe Brice isn't the guy for you."

"That's my future husband you're talking about," I joked while shoving her shoulder back. "He just doesn't know it yet," I added.

Mi Yun moved to stand beside Sadaf, and they both faced me.

"Call me weird or old-fashioned," Sadaf went on, "but I think a guy who you can talk to with ease is the one who's right for you, and that's not Brice."

"Us not talking isn't his fault," I said. "It's mine."

"Because something is holding you back," she said. "I personally think people who are a good fit for each other can converse without much effort. You don't have to wrack your brain for something to say, and you don't have to force yourself to talk to them. It just happens."

"This isn't a fairy tale, Sadaf," I said with a scoff. "It's the real world. People get nervous around each other. People get tongue-tied. A lot of things happen."

She rose her hands in surrender. "I just think people who are really meant to be together don't have to put so much effort into talking to a person."

"Whatever," I muttered and turned to walk off but halted at the sight of two boys coming our way.

"Hey, Sadaf." Oliver waved with a grin as he and Jax stopped before us.

"What's up?" she greeted. "Did you finally check out that mixtape I told you about?" She leaned against her locker with her attention solely on him.

He nodded. "Life is never the same now that you've introduced me to The GazettE." Sadaf chuckled, and Oliver smiled at her.

       The GazettE was one of Sadaf's favorite J-Rock bands. They were pretty good from what I had heard so far, and I could see why she loved them so much.

While Sadaf and Oliver continued talking, I looked over to Jax, who was already watching me.

"Aren't you going to say 'hi' to me?" I asked, and he fought back a smile.

"Hello, Estella," he greeted. "Happy?"

"No, I'm not," I said. "I had to remind you."

He rolled his eyes and placed his hands into his pockets. "Why do I associate myself with you?"

"I ask myself the same question every day."

In all honesty, I actually liked talking to Jax. It was entertaining.

"Ready for that French test?" he asked.

"As ready as I can be," I replied. "You?"

"More ready than you." He smiled.

"We'll see about that." I loved a challenge. "You know what? Let's make a deal." He quirked a brow. "Whoever gets the higher score on the French test will have the other person do whatever they want for a week."

Jax's eyes went round, and Mi Yun snapped her head in my direction.

"Are you serious ?" Jax asked.

"Yup," I said.

"Girl, you watch too many K-dramas," Mi Yun said, and I shushed her.

I did though. Mi Yun, Sadaf and I would sometimes have sleepovers where we would complete a drama for the duration of the night. And we sometimes watched the same dramas individually, but we always discussed them.

However, I didn't even think about that. I just wanted to show Jax up, so he would know not to mess with or underestimate me.

"Okay." Jax nodded. "It's on then."

"Perfect," I said with a smile.

"You better win, Es," Mi Yun mumbled. "The girls always lose in the K-dramas, for some reason."

Right? What was up with that?

"Don't cry when you lose, Estella," Jax said with a smug smirk.

"I won't." I stared straight at him with a nonchalant demeanor.

"Okay, then. I'll see you in French," he said before tapping Oliver's shoulder. "We gotta go, dude. Brice and Tyler are waiting."

"Oh, yeah." Oliver scratched his head and glanced at Sadaf. "I'll see you later, Sadaf. Whenever you have any more awesome music to recommend, hit me up. "

"I'll keep that in mind. See ya." She waved as they walked off.

Jax glanced back at me. "Estella." I caught his gaze. "Same old shit..."

I grinned as excitement filled me. "...different day," I finished off, and he laughed before turning to face the front again as they left.

"What was that about?" Mi Yun asked when I turned to face them.

"The Shawshank Redemption," I said, and they nodded instantly.

That was one of my favorite lines from The Shawshank Redemption because it held so much truth. I still had to watch Fight Club with Jax, and I was kind of excited for it.

"How cute." Sadaf sent me a mischievous grin, and I didn't appreciate that look.

"What's cute?"

"You and Jax. Who cares about Brice when you have him?" She rose and lowered her brows repeated, and the three of us began to walk away from the lockers.

"I care," I said. "Jax and I are mere acquaintances. Brice and I..."

We were nothing.

At least, not yet, but we would be something eventually. I was going to make sure of it.

"Why did I feel like a fucking fifth wheel throughout that whole conversation?" Mi Yun asked as we made our way to the fine arts hallway. "Oh, yeah." She placed a hand onto her chin before glaring at me and Sadaf. "Because you two were flirting with Jax and Oliver."

"Jax and I were not flirting," I corrected her. "We were talking. People tend to do that, Mimi."

Mi Yun opened the door to the band room, and we walked in. Derek was playing his trumpet again.

Ugh.

Sometimes I wanted to take the instrument and stuff it down his throat to shut him up.

"At least you actually talk to Jax," Sadaf said, "unlike Brice."

"Shut up!" I smacked her arm, and she giggled as she blocked my repeated hits.

"The truth hurts, girl," she said, and I halted my attack with a pout.

Jax was fun to be around, and I liked talking to him. But if I had to choose between talking to Jax or talking to Brice, Brice would always win.

"If you were smart, you would use Jax to your advantage." Mi Yun led the way into the storage room, and we stopped at our corner, making a mini circle.

"What are you talking about?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"Estella." Mi Yun grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes. "Who's the common denominator between you and Brice?"

"Jax," Sadaf and I answered together.

Mi Yun nodded and released my hands. "Exactly. Jax is one of Brice's closest friends, and you and him are on pretty good terms. If you knew how to work things right, Jax may very well be your path to getting Brice."

How could I not have thought of this?

Sadaf wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that using him though?"

"No," Mi Yun and I said simultaneously.

"A lot of people meet their significant others through mutual friends," Mi Yun elaborated. "There's nothing wrong with some romantic networking."

Romantic Networking.

I liked that.

"I don't like Brice," Mi Yun said with a shrug. "He's an ass in my book, but you like him. If you want your man, you better start acting instead of waiting. What acting includes? That's up to you."

She moved past me and Sadaf to head over to the clarinet shelf, and I could only stare ahead.

Mi Yun was right. I needed to stop waiting around for Brice to come to me. I needed to start taking steps to talk to him. To hang out with him. To maneuver my way into his life.

Maybe Jax was the key.

"Don't tell me you're actually contemplating using Jax to get Brice," Sadaf said with a scolding look.

"It's not using him." I turned to the flute shelf, and Sadaf joined me. "It's romantic networking."

She rolled her eyes, and we began to put our flutes together. "It doesn't feel right."

"Sadaf." We stopped what we were doing and turned to face each other. "Relax. Jax and I already get along. I talk to him because I want to, and that has nothing to do with Brice. However, it wouldn't hurt to get a little closer to Brice through him. He's my and Brice's mutual friend, and Mi Yun is right. I'm a smart girl, so it's time I start using that to my advantage."

I closed my case, grabbed my flute, and sent her a grin before walking off right as the bell rang for the beginning of first period.

Band went as normal, and we played another march to choose from for our upcoming concert. In psych, I sat next to Brice, but we still didn't talk. After taking our test, Jax and I talked too much in French and got called out by Madame LeBlanc—again.

It was the "same old shit, different day."

After school, I stayed after for my Key Club meeting. I stayed after school almost every day. If I didn't have marching band practice, which was three times a week, then I had a Key Club meeting or something else to take care of after school. Luckily, the meeting was only an hour, so it ended pretty quickly.

Once it was over, I stood outside the school, where a lot of the marching band kids waited for their parents to pick them up, trying to get in touch with Daddy. He wasn't picking up, and I had called him three times already.

"What are you doing here?" someone asked, and I turned around to catch a glimpse of the person.

Jax.

He approached me with his trademark bored expression. "I should be asking you the same thing. Company doesn't have practice on Wednesdays."

He rose a brow as he stood in front of me. "How would you know? Do you go around watching me?"

I busted into laughter at his ludicrous accusation. This boy was funny.

"You wish," I scoffed. "A lot of people know that."

The only reason I cared enough to know was because of Brice, not Jax.

"But seriously, why are you here?" He wasn't relenting. "The marching band doesn't practice on Wednesdays."

It was my turn to smirk. "Look who's watching now."

His expression dropped with a frown. "Believe what you wanna believe. Whatever makes you sleep at night."

I sat on one of the seats available, and he sat beside me. "I had a Key Club meeting," I told him, and he bobbed his head. "What about you?"

"Just doing some work." He tousled his hair. "On days I don't have company practice, I stay after school to finish homework or anything else I have to do for my classes."

"Someone sure loves being at school."

He snorted. "Try again."

"Then you must hate being home." I giggled, but he stared at me, not looking amused at all. My giggle faded, and my face fell. "Geez, relax." I shoved his shoulder back, and he shook his head at me. "Why are you so uptight?"

"I'm not uptight," he said. "I just don't find entertainment in a lot of the things other people find entertainment in."

"Well, since most people don't go out of their way to do this, will you give me a ride home?" I watched him, hopefully.

"What does other people have to do with me giving you a ride home?"

"You don't like what most people like, so I was thinking, maybe you don't mind what most people dislike. And most people don't like giving other people rides."

He stared at me blankly. "That makes no sense."

"Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it doesn't make sense," I said, using his own words against him.

He wagged a finger at me. "I see what you did there."

"So, will you give me a ride?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he muttered before standing up, and I rose to my feet with him. "Come on."

"Yay!" Before I could pull him into a hug, he gently pushed me back.

"No hugging." He began to walk, and I followed behind him.

"Who doesn't want to get a hug from a pretty girl?"

"You're not supposed to call yourself 'pretty.' That's other people's job," Jax said as he stopped and checked to make sure there were no cars coming before crossing the road, and I walked behind him. "It makes you come across as vain."

"Only insecure girls don't call themselves 'pretty,'" I said. "I'm not insecure, but maybe I am vain. You don't know. There're a lot of things you don't know about me, Jax."

"You have a point." He nodded as we walked up the stairs that led to the parking lot. "Then I'll give you control of the AUX chord."

I moved to walk beside him, and our steps became in sync. "Really?"

"Uh-huh," he said while looking at me. "What better way to learn more about you then by critiquing your music taste?"

"Critiquing?" My pace slowed. "I don't like your choice of words."

We stopped in front of a red pickup truck with a fading paint job. It oddly fitted Jax, and he unlocked the car.

"Estella," he said while looking over at me from the driver's side. "Meet Verda."

"Verda?" I crossed my arms as I examined the timeworn car. "You named your car?"

"Don't sound so surprised," he said while opening his door. I followed suit, and we got in.

He threw his dragon backpack onto the back seat, and I rested mine on the passenger's floor. We got settled in, and he started the car while I reached for the AUX chord.

"Ready to have your life changed like Oliver?" I turned up the volume before I even started scrolling through my playlists.

"It'll either be an epic surprise," he said as he reversed out of his parking spot, "or an epic disappointment. It's all on you."

He maneuvered the car around until it was facing forward.

"Trust me, Jax, I don't disappoint."

"We'll see," he replied.

And we were off.

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* Song is "Pledge" by The GazettE