Chapter 58: A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Irritation

Undefined Conviction

Chapter 58: A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Irritation

Theo Marsh had transferred in at the start of the semester, played varsity something-or-other, and possessed the specific effortless charm of a boy who'd never once had to work for anyone's attention in his life. He also, as of Tuesday, had apparently decided Vesper was worth working for anyway, which had become, over the course of a single lunch period, considerably more interesting to Cole than it had any right to be.

"She's got this whole mysterious thing going on," Theo told Reeve at lunch, entirely unaware he was explaining Vesper's appeal to one of the two people in the building who actually understood how literally true that mystery was. "Doesn't talk much. Draws in that notebook constantly. It's interesting."

"Interesting," Reeve repeated, glancing sideways at Cole with an expression that was working very hard not to become a smile.

"You know her, right? Introduce me?"

"I don't think that's really my—"

"Come on, man. One conversation. What's the harm?"

Cole, three seats down, stabbed a piece of cafeteria pizza with considerably more force than the pizza had earned. The tray actually skidded an inch across the table from the impact.

"You okay?" Reeve asked, watching him.

"Fine."

"You're murdering your lunch."

"I'm eating my lunch. Enthusiastically."

Reeve exchanged a look with Mia, who'd wandered over mid-conversation with the specific timing of someone who could smell drama forming three tables away. "He's doing the thing," she said, dropping into the seat across from Cole without asking.

"What thing?"

"The thing where he says he's fine and means the opposite, except he doesn't actually know he means the opposite yet." Mia sat down, entirely too pleased with herself, already pulling out her phone to text someone the play-by-play in real time. "This is delightful. Please continue being oblivious. I want to watch the whole process unfold."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Theo wants to ask Vesper out," Reeve said, watching Cole's face carefully, clearly enjoying this considerably more than he was letting on. "That's what we're talking about."

Cole's fork paused halfway to his mouth. "That's — fine. She can do whatever she wants. She's not obligated to—"

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"You're doing it again," Mia said, delighted.

"Doing what?"

"The face. The one where your voice stays calm but your whole body's radiating something considerably less calm underneath it." She leaned forward, grinning, thoroughly enjoying herself now. "You're jealous, Cole. It's happening right now, in real time, and it's the funniest thing I've witnessed all semester."

"I'm not jealous. I'm eating pizza."

"You're murdering pizza while being jealous. Two things can happen at once."

He found Vesper at her locker after school, Theo already there ahead of him, leaning against the neighboring locker with the specific easy confidence of someone who'd never learned that confidence occasionally needed to read a room first.

"—so I was thinking, maybe this weekend, if you're free," Theo was saying, and Cole felt something tighten behind his ribs that had absolutely nothing to do with Verdict and everything to do with an emotion he was still actively refusing to name, even to himself, even now, watching it happen in real time from ten feet away.

Vesper glanced up, caught Cole's eye over Theo's shoulder, and something amused flickered behind her expression before she turned her attention back with careful, practiced politeness.

"That's kind," she said. "I'm actually pretty busy this weekend."

"Next weekend, then?"

"Also busy. I've got a lot going on right now." She wasn't lying, technically, which Cole appreciated on some level even through the specific discomfort currently occupying most of his attention. "Sorry. It's not personal."

Theo, to his credit, took it reasonably well, offering an easy shrug and a "worth a shot" before wandering off down the hallway, entirely unbothered, already scanning for his next social opportunity with the resilience of someone who'd been turned down plenty of times before and never once let it dent his confidence.

Cole approached slowly, doing his best impression of someone who hadn't just spent the last ten seconds silently rehearsing several unhelpful things he was glad he hadn't said out loud.

"You okay?" Vesper asked, closing her locker.

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

"No reason. You've just got a face like you personally lost an argument you weren't actually part of."

"I don't have a face like that."

"You absolutely do. Mia texted me a play-by-play from lunch, for the record, complete with commentary." Vesper's mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile and was considerably more dangerous for exactly that reason. "You could've just said something, you know. Instead of stabbing your pizza like it personally wronged you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." She shouldered her bag, falling into step beside him as they headed for the exit, close enough that their arms brushed with every other stride. "For what it's worth. I wasn't going to say yes."

"Wasn't my business either way."

"No. It wasn't." Something warm and teasing colored her voice now, entirely too pleased with the situation for Cole's comfort. "Doesn't mean it isn't nice, watching you pretend it wasn't."

He didn't have a comeback ready for that, mostly because she wasn't wrong, and arguing with an accurate observation had never once worked out well for him this entire month.

"I contain multitudes," he said instead, weakly.

"You contain exactly one very obvious multitude right now, and it's currently blushing."

"I'm not blushing."

"You're extremely blushing. I could correct you on it, if you'd like a second opinion. I hear you've got a whole ability built around telling people uncomfortable truths."

"Don't you dare."

"Wouldn't dream of it. This one's more fun watching you figure out yourself."

He was blushing. He knew he was. He let her have the win anyway, mostly because watching her smile about it felt like a considerably better use of the afternoon than continuing to deny something they'd both already clearly recognized, walking home together under an ordinary afternoon sky that, for once, asked nothing more complicated of either of them than simply enjoying it.

[End of Chapter 58]