Chapter Ten - You're On

I was convinced the school vending machine didn't work. They'd just planted a crappy machine and stuffed it with goodies to watch us burn, craving the display items from afar.

"Come on, crackers." I tapped desperately at the coin slot, shaking the machine with everything I had.

As if the stupid snacks showcase took mercy on me, a candy bar fell out and I ducked down to retrieve it with a sigh. Something's better than nothing.

"I was gonna ask if you needed help with that."

"No, I'm good but thanks—"

I glanced sideways briefly before looking back at my candy bar, then did a double take at the person standing in front of me, his hands buried casually in his pockets and a warm smile sitting on his lips.

It was like one of those movie scenes where everything around the actors just blurs and there's a camera revolving around them, focusing only on them. That was the kind of attention the person in front of me had from me. Everything else was a blur.

"Hey! You're Rebekah, right?" he asked.

Did I die and go to heaven? That must be it.

The candy bar dramatically slipped out of my hands and he smiled politely before bending down to get it and handing it back to me. I grabbed a hold of it with shaky hands.

The only thing stopping this from turning into an absolutely pathetic moment for me was me passing out flat on my back because of my overwhelming emotions.

I only blinked, somehow blurting, "t-thanks."

"No problem."

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

What the hell is going on? Everything seemed too unreal to process to the point where I was wondering if I'd woken up in the morning at all, if it was all a dream. Not just because Sean Villin was standing in front of me but because Sean freaking Villin was talking to me, looking at me. Square in the face. Deep in the eyes.

He was noticing me! He knew my name!

"Nice voice, Rebekah," he said with a smile while walking past me and I just blinked in response again, my head turning with him to follow his movement as if he were the Sun and I were a sunflower.

Then as if my subconscious slapped me back to reality and reminded me once again that I had the ability to speak, I coughed and stuttered out another thanks.

He spun around and started walking backwards as his eyes ran across me and he nodded. "Also, nice t-shirt." He winked before finally turning and walking away.

I looked down to check what I was wearing. A t-shirt saying Ain't No Trouble Scoring with a football right above it. I got that for my older brother but he didn't pack it for college, so I just assumed it was mine now. It was comfortable but oversized; I'd tucked its front in my jeans so it didn't look that baggy.

I released a breath, remaining still for the next ten seconds. Did that really just happen?

It did! It fucking did!

And then, a big grin stretched across my lips and I could easily imagine a deep blush on my cheeks. Hell, I could bet I was as red as a tomato. Sean was everything I'd imagined he would be.

Smart, charming and sexy.

"Smart, charming and sexy," Mack repeated my words, holding back a laugh. "You got that from a forty second conversation?"

"And a year of following him around like a puppy." I grinned, shutting my locker. "I'm just saying he's exactly like I imagined he would be. Kind, sweet and caring."

"And she finds more adjectives." Meera chuckled. I rolled my eyes at them, hardly being able to keep the smile out of my face.

"Shut up, guys. We should be celebrating this. This is huge. We are so so happy for you, Becks. Finally!" Cheryl threw her arms around me, patting my back proudly. "You did it."

"Thanks, Cher." I nodded, mocking the other two, "at least someone's happy for me."

"Aw, Becks." Mack ruffled my hair. "You know we're thrilled to hear this. You just broke the news so suddenly; I'm still having a hard time believing it really happened."

I deadpanned.

"But yes, we're celebrating. Milkshakes after school?" He wiggled his brows.

"Definitely. This was the best and the most unexpected thing to happen to me. I mean, of all the things I'd imagined that would finally make him notice me, music was the last of them. I cannot be more thankful for yesterday." I wiped a fake tear but it might as well have been a real one. That's how elated I was.

But universe couldn't let me be happy for too long, now, could it?

"You bitch!"

A loud voice echoed across the hallway and everyone turned to the source. I only realized that insult was directed at me when I noticed who said it and the way she was glaring at me as she angrily trod over to me.

"Rebecca." I rolled my eyes. My day had been going so great. "What do you want now?"

"What did I tell you about staying away from Matt?" she asked in a deliberately low voice, thinking she could scare.

"Well, do you see him anywhere near me?" I crossed my arms, pretending to look around.

"Good. It better stay that way. And don't you ever and I mean ever, even think about taking my spot again. That stage is mine. That music club is mine." Pointing a finger at her chest, she took another step forward in an attempt to intimidate me. "Don't you ever bring your awful voice near the group again, you understand?"

"I wouldn't have to if you'd just been a little more responsible towards your music club and showed up for your performance on time."

"And whose fault is that? This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "What?"

"I know this is your revenge for those rumours about you. Stop playing innocent. I passed out in the bathroom because of you right before my performance so you could take my place. How convenient."

A few gasps echoed from the crowd and with an accusation like that, I could see myself getting another strike from the principal. My eyes grew wide.

"What the hell are you talking about, Rebecca? I didn't do anything."

"Oh yes, you did. You riled me up right before you walked out of the bathroom. While I was running after you to give you a piece of my mind, I tripped and passed out. I was woken up by the janitor after school hours, for fuck's sake." When she finished talking, her face was completely red and she had angry tears in her eyes, which never fell because she blinked and pushed them back.

"How is that my..." I trailed off as the whispers in the crowd rose but the chuckles became louder.

'Oh my God, she's crazy.' 'I thought the other Rebekah had actually hurt her.' 'What a drama queen.' 'Attention seeker.' 'Pathetic' and so on.

Rebecca's eyes widened in horror and all her embarrassment was instantly replaced by her anger back on me.

She cleared her throat, pulled herself together and then snapped at me to tone down the whispers, "even if I didn't show up for my performance, it's none of your business to fill in for me."

"Damn right, it isn't." I shrugged. "And I didn't even want to. I was shoved on the stage because of a misunderstanding and guess what? Your precious Matt asked me to sing with the group."

She froze, slowly shaking her head in denial. "He wouldn't."

"Why don't you go ask him that?"

"I will. But just so you know, you sucked. You ruined the performance. I saw the video and I've never heard someone so off-key and bland."

"Yo she was better than you!" Someone from the little crowd that had gathered around us shouted. It was so random; all we could make out was it was a girl but no chance to know even the direction it came from.

Gee thanks, random person!

"I'm so much better than her. She's so..." Rebecca's voice got lost in the increasingly loud chatters and laughs around us about how I sang better than her. Either I'd been really good on the stage or she'd been a bitch to a lot of people and they finally had the chance to get back now.

"Enough!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, silencing everyone. "I am so much better than her, it isn't even a comparison. I'll prove it." She glared at me, pursing her lips. "You know what? I know exactly how. A music battle. You and me. What do you say, loser?"

As much as I didn't mean to, I let out a laugh at her desperation. "Everyone already knows who's better here. I've got nothing to prove to you."

Wolf whistles started going off around us again. Wow! People really did enjoy putting their nose in other people's business.

"Stop everyone!" Rebecca shouted, turning red in the face. "Maybe you're just scared, Rebekah."

"Nope. Pretty sure I'm not. Besides, music is not really my thing. You can keep it." I shrugged, scanning the crowd, a little bored and wondering when this little show would be over. My heart picked up when I spotted a familiar face.

Sean had his eyes on me and he looked impressed. He passed me a little smile and gave me a thumbs up. And there goes my heart doing its weird thing again.

In some way, this was a proof, a confirmation to my friends that I hadn't imagined our last encounter. Meera subtly wiggled her brows at me, surprised while Macks' mouth formed an o shape and he gave an impressed nod.

"Admit it," Rebecca snapped, having my attention again. "You're just not brave enough to accept this challenge because you know you can never sing like that again. Yesterday was a lucky mistake. You suck!"

"Alright! That's enough." Someone cut in and I looked sideways, baffled. Will? He was cutting his way through the crowd, eyes fixed on us.

"You've said enough, Rebecca."

"Excuse me?" She regarded him coldly, as if daring him to speak again. "I was talking to her."

"You're not making any sense, okay? And Rebekah, here, doesn't have anything to prove to you. She was good and everyone saw it."

I smiled at Will.

"But she's—"

"No," he snapped. "You're being a brat and wasting everyone's time here. Unless you have something to offer, you can't expect her to take up a stupid challenge like that."

Huh? I looked into the crowd and found Parker giving me a pleading look. What the hell was going on?

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"A prize."

Will turned to me and smiled nervously before saying, "if Rebekah accepts this and you both compete—say six weeks from now because it's only fair since you've been singing for years and she's new—the winner gets to perform as leads with Matt in the annual music event. We all know how huge that is."

"What?" Rebecca snapped. "There's no way I'm putting that on line."

"Oh? What's the matter?" Will smirked. "You're scared of losing your spot to her? And you were so sure you're better than her just a minute ago."

She glared at him and it was like she'd realized if she backed out now, it would make her the loser in everyone's eyes so she swept all her doubts under the rug at once and nodded. "Fine."

Her eyes shifted from Will to me. "But does she accept?"

I was too taken aback to respond. How did I even get into that? Will threw me a pleading look similar to Parker's but I remained silent, still processing.

Rebecca laughed. "See? She's a coward. She's not gonna accept. I'm gonna let this go this one time. I think we can all leave now. We're just wasting our time here."

"Accept it!" Someone from the crowd shouted. Random again. Yeah, easy for you to say.

And just like that, all the students broke into the chant, the word accept travelling around the room so fast it almost beat light.

Once again, I looked at Sean. His eyes were fixed on me like he was just waiting for me to look at him and he nodded with a smile, cheering for me with the others.

"Accept! Accept! Accept!"

"Can't you all see?" Rebecca scoffed. "She's not going to accept. She can't because she sucks. Let's just move on—"

Without giving it a second thought, I cut her off.

"You're on."