Chapter 129: Vance Has A Crush On You

Aina

"Travis, are you cheating on Molly?"

Beatrice slammed her lunch tray down onto the long wooden table in the cafeteria, her eyes wide with dramatic accusation. You would think Aina killed someone the way Beatrice was looking at her.

Chloe took a sip of her juice, looking up. "Is it even cheating? I mean, Molly is getting married, so I think their relationship is basically over. Wait, you and Molly did break up?" Before Aina could even say so much as a word, Beatrice yet again beat her to it.

"Oh, come on!" Beatrice snapped, leaning across the table. "That is a forced marriage! Of course Molly doesn’t want to marry that madman so of course they didn’t break up, idiot!"

"I swear Beatrice, I will shove my spoon down your throat if you call me an idiot, again." Chloe sassed looking as if she would actually do it. "

"But, I’m telling the truth, he has to be cheating." Beatrice shouted attacking stares.

Aina almost choked on her roasted potatoes, coughing violently into her hand. "What are you talking about, Beatrice?!"

"Don’t play dumb with me!" Beatrice hissed, pointing her fork at Aina’s face. "The entire school is talking about it! Vance kissed you twice! He even kissed you on the cheek!"

Aina felt her cheeks burn with instant, furious heat. Oh, Vance, look what you’ve done, she cursed in her head, grinding her teeth. You absolute idiot.

"No! I am not cheating!" Aina blurted out, waving her hands frantically. "Molly and I broke up! And Vance was just... checking something. It was nothing serious!"

Chloe narrowed her eyes, studying Aina’s flustered face. "So you’re not dating Vance?"

"No! Of course I am not dating Vance!" Aina practically yelled.

She quickly shoved a massive forkful of food into her mouth to avoid talking any further. She had zero desire to sit here and answer endless questions about Vance when she didn’t even understand what his problem was herself. Why on earth had he kissed her like that in a hallway? Was he trying to get her killed? Was this a new way to make her suffer?

She chewed as fast as she could, swallowed, and immediately stood up from the bench. "Oh, I’m all done! I’ll go now!"

Beatrice and Chloe stared at her like she was a complete weirdo, which she definitely was being at the moment. But Aina didn’t give a damn. She grabbed her tray, dumped it at the clearing station, and hurried out of the noisy cafeteria straight toward the dorms.

She needed to confront Vance right now and demand to know why he did what he did.

She rushed up the stairs, threw open the front door of her dorm, and stopped in her tracks. Theo was sitting at the kitchen counter, flipping through a stack of school papers with a pen tucked behind his ear.

The moment Theo looked up and saw her breathing heavily in the doorway, he smirked slightly.

"Oh, I’m guessing you’re looking for Vance."

"Yes, I am," Aina said, marching into the living room with her arms crossed.

"Oh, well, I told him to go touch grass, so he won’t be back for a while," Theo replied casually, tapping his pen against his paper.

Aina let out a long, frustrated groan. "Ugh!"

Theo leaned back in his chair, looking at her with an amused glint in his eyes. "Let me guess, you want to find Vance because you want to talk to explain why kissed you?"

Aina glared at him. "Yes! Do you know why he did that?!"

"Oh, yeah, I do," Theo said with a dry laugh. "He says he has a massive crush on you for some reason." Aina’s eyes went wide, her jaw practically hitting the floor. What?!

"What are you talking about?!" Aina choked out, stepping closer to the counter. "What does he mean he has a crush on me?!"

"Oh, don’t worry, it’s nothing," Theo said, waving his hand dismissively. "Maybe he’s just going through some things. Well... I don’t know, maybe he’s looking for some kind of change in his life."

Wow, this guy is so incredibly helpful, Aina thought, rolling her eyes so hard it hurt.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. "Um... can you do me a favor and tell me specifically where Vance is?" Theo stared at her for a second, humming thoughtfully. "He should be near the school pond. Playing in it? Or drawing? Or rolling in the grass? I don’t know."

"Oh, great. The school pond," Aina muttered, standing there awkwardly.

She didn’t move a muscle.

Theo let out a heavy sigh, setting his pen down on the counter. "You don’t know where the school pond is, do you?"

Aina straightened her spine, clearing her throat. "No. Not an idea." Theo grumbled under his breath, shaking his head. "Go get your school map."

"On it!" Aina said instantly.

She turned on her heel and rushed down the hallway to her room. She grabbed the folded paper map from her desk drawer, but in her frantic hurry, she forgot to lock her door behind her.

She hurried right back out into the living room and slapped the map onto the counter in front of Theo.

Theo unfolded the large paper, pulled the pen from behind his ear, and drew a thick, dark circle around a small blue lake printed near the east border of the campus. He added a series of little arrows showing the exact path from their dormitory building to the water.

"Please," Theo said, handing the map back to her with a serious look, "when you find him, deconvince him that he’s in love with you. Don’t encourage this behavior."

Aina snatched the map, nodding fiercely. "On it! I promise you he will no longer be in love with me by the time I’m done!"

With that, she turned and rushed out the front door, almost running straight into Keali, who was casually stepping inside.