I have my gang with me; we sit at our usual circle table laughing and joking like normal. Nothing's changed. I don't know what I was expecting. My anxiety disappears, and it's replaced with happiness. Pure bliss. Jack comes over, and still, my mood stays the same.

"Come with me."

I cut him off. "No."

He stares at me with surprise.

"You wouldn't even let me finish."

"Because you were demanding me. I'm a human, talk to me like I'm a person, not a dog."

He sighed and pulled his head back to look towards the ceiling, then looked back at me.

"Will you come with me for a minute?" He asked begrudgingly.

I smile and nod. "I'll be back guys," I stand and wave.

I follow after him, away from all people. That makes me confused, but not concerned.

"This isn't working, so I think we need to be more obvious?"

"How?" I ask. I'm not going to be making out with him, that's for damn sure. Over my dead body. He wants me to look like a trophy just for his popularity. That's not happening. I'm a human, not an object. "What more do you want me to do? Remember, I have boundaries to this whole ordeal. You're lucky I'm even doing this for you, you don't deserve it."

He stands in silence like he's thinking long and hard about something. His broad shoulder slightly lifts, and his eyes trail down to the parking lot.

"Will you go out with my friends and me tonight? We are going to an arcade," he has a light tone. He's actually trying to be nice, this whole time he's had a snarky, cocksure, attitude. But, not now. It's like he actually considered my feelings once during this whole deal.

"I will see if I can, I've been busy this past week."

"Thank you," he smiled sincerely.

Now I look shocked. He just said thank you, and to me of all people. With his stupidly gorgeous smile, and his stupidly kind 'thank you'. I don't know how much longer my heart can take this abuse.

"Yeah. Let's go back in?" I half ask, and he nods.

We start walking in, I grab his hand when we open the doors. This guy can actually have half a heart, I don't expect it to last long though. I bet the moment we are with his friends he'll change.

--

"Jack asked me to go with him and his friends tonight. I said I'll see. This could be a good opportunity to find some dirt about him. I'm going to say yes, wherever we go I'm going to send you the location," I text Tim.

Tim: "Damn it, Mac, be safe."

"I will be, don't worry. Can you cover for me, I haven't told my parents about any of this. They haven't met him, I doubt they'd let me go with a stranger."

Tim: "Yup, I gotcha."

I text my family chats, "Can I go out with Tim tonight?"

"Of course. Drop by home first to change the pod. Where are you going?" Mom responded.

"Driving, but also the arcade."

Ma: "Alright, that sounds fun. I'll cya when you get home."

I text Jack, "I can go tonight."

Jackass: "Great, where do I pick you up?

"I'll give you that later."

--

I stab the needle through the pod, and it makes a small pop. I drop the needle in the bin and attach my pen to the pod. I shake it, then attach it to the lanyard around my neck.

"Will you be okay?"

I nod. "Come on now," I raise my eyebrow with a smile. "You know Tim. I'll be fine, I promise you."

I can't promise. Could this be considered a date? I'm nervous, I even got dressed up in a new outfit. His friends will be there... it's not a date. But I need to focus, get dirt on him. I need to stop daydreaming. Let's do this.

I text him my address, and he sends back a "Damn, you're actually nearby".

"Another new friend is going with us, he'll be picking me up," I smile and step out. "Love ya! I'll be back by 10:30."

He pulls up in a black Chevrolet Corvette convertible ZR1, the top down. He smirks and motions for me to step in, I do. It's nice; the seats swallow me in a protective comfortable way.

"Dressed to impress?" he asks, then says "Remember the seatbelt."

"Haha," I exaggerate a laugh, "you're one to talk. You got that rich people outfit. You have 3 Gucci items on and a fucking Rolex. How fucking rich is your closet?" I roll my eyes, getting my seatbelt on. I'm just happy he does one smart thing; wear a seatbelt and make others wear their seatbelt.

He laughs, I'm probably just boosting his ego. He puts the car in drive and we start slowly rolling forward.

"Sounds like someone's a little pressed. You have a nice house and a big-name brand on right now. What's so wrong with that?"

The fact my cancer is so expensive, we are falling behind on bills. This shirt was on sale because no one liked its style. And, my jeans were from a thrift store. I feel like crumbs compared to the guy next to me.

"So, were you just born into a rich family?" I ask sarcastically.

"Yeah."

I scoff, "I can't understand you people."

"Don't be like that," he glanced at me with a soft smile. "Just because I was born brought up doesn't mean my parents were too."

I pause. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Insult me all you want; attitude looks good on you," he looks over and gives me a wink.

My heart flips and I feel my brain fizzle out. I give another exaggerated laugh, simply because I don't know how to respond without fully admitting I'm in love with him.

"I wish I had your money, it would make life easier," I manage to get out. I'm not even thinking about the words I'm saying.

"Probably. But, you're living, and that's what matters. Money can't buy you life."

I'm tempted to say it can for me, but he doesn't know about my cancer. So I stay quiet and just stare outside as we zoom. I enjoy the wind gently pushing into my skin, cooling my face as we drive. I'm tempted to close my eyes and enjoy a nap in the wind. I do close my eyes. I let the wind flow through me, and I take long deep breaths of nature. I don't mean to, but I can't hold back the smile forcing its way up.

"Can I ask something?" Jack asks, and it's so quiet I hardly caught on to it.

"You already are, why not."

"Why don't you ever have time to go out?" He asks rather cautiously.

"I have my reasons," I open my eyes and look over at him. His hands resting gently at 9 and 3. He is a careful driver and goes the speed limit, even in this fancy car. I guess he is good at some things. "They're just personal. Can we not talk about my personal life, please?" I ask with a sigh, I'm not ready for the emotional drainage.

"What can I ask about you then?"

"I don't know, anything except my personal life. Ask useful things for our fake relationship."

"Okay, what music do you listen to?" His hand goes to the radio.

"Classic Rock; you?"

"Rock isn't bad," he presses a button and moves the dial. He presses another button that turns up or down the volume. Slow classic rock starts playing lowly. "You like to party?"

"Not really."

"You drink or smoke?"

"Nope."

"Really now?" He asked with an amused smile, slightly turning his head to watch me.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" I question him, he grins and focuses back on the road.

"There's a rumor I've heard about you. That you like to get stoned."

"Who started that?" I half-laugh.

"Some junior that noticed you're eyes are always slightly red, and you skip class in the bathrooms a lot. Kids who smoke do that shit."

"You vape. Did you forget I saw you at the mall?"

"I admit that I do it; I have for 2 years. It helps, the same thing with drinking."

"How does it help?"

"Nah Nah Nah," he shakes his finger. "Answer my question first. Are you a stoner?"

"No, I'm not. How does it help?"

"It's a distraction. So, why are your eyes always red, and why do you skip so often?"

"That's personal; not going to answer. What does it distract you from?"

"That's personal," he offers a smile my way. "I opt out. I plea the fourth."

"It's the fifth, dumbass," I laugh. "5th Amendment; protect against self-incrimination."

"Whatever," he grinned. "It's personal."

"All perfect Jack has secrets," I joke. "How interesting."

"Everyone has secrets. Everyone."

I shrug, "I guess you're right."