Chapter 21 — Attention

** Courtney's POV ** 

Talk about instant popularity? Well, that's Chad Treyson.

He fixed his hair, wore slightly tight fitting shirt, and lose his goofy glasses then bam! He's suddenly a pretty boy.

It kind of annoys me that Chad was having this kind of attention. I mean, the whole female population was making a big deal about him. He was the topic in every conversation.

Suddenly, he was everyone's eye candy.

I was having a hard time concentrating on my classes because of the girls giggling and gossiping about him. Some wanted to approach him and be friends with him. Some put their numbers in his locker. And some were desperate enough to join the drama club just to be close to him.

That's freakin' insane and annoying!

I mean, where were you when he is mister goofy glasses? Where were you when he needs members in his club? Where were you when...

And that ladies and gentlemen, the jealous side of Courtney Collins.

Can you not? I don't have time for you today, okay? I rolled my eyes internally to my subconscious.

"You know, I kind of have a little crush on Chad since I saw him during our freshmen year. He's so cute back then. And now he's so dreamy." The girl at my side whispered to her friend.

Liar. He's a transferee and didn't attend this school during 9th grade. Get your fact straight, bitch.

"Chad is a part time model. He's just too modest to let the school know." A girl from my back gossiped.

Wrong. His part time job is being a student assistant here, in this school. The same school ground you're walking, cow.

Seriously? Why do these idiots have to make up stories about him! You all don't know him so stop acting as if you do.

"You know, I heard that he still needs a main female lead to his play. I guess I have to audition for that part. Since he's going to be the main guy lead... who knows? Maybe it could develop into something, right? And maybe there could be a kissing scene." The annoying blonde girl in my front said with a giggle.

I was close to grabbing that skank's infuriating hair and pull it out of her scalp. But unfortunately an alert message from my phone interrupted me from making that blonde go bald.

Jeez Courtney Collins. What the hell is happening to you? You're acting violent and like a lunatic! Pull yourself together and set your mind straight. This is so not you!

I took slow calming breaths and composed myself before I open my phone to see who texted me.

Looks like your Chad is the talk of the town now. Everyone's talking about how hot he is. You might lose the bet, C! LOL. — T

This is childish and downright pathetic. How in the world could I possibly lose this bet? I'm Courtney Collins for Pete's sake!

Love the confidence, Court. But let's face it. Chad Treyson, the geek and hottie version, don't like Courtney Collins. Now that he's the apple of the eye of every woman in this school, it means that he could get any girl he wants and throw you away.

Thank you for slaying your own self, snobbish subconscious. You're a great help!

I wanted to shut my brain from thinking so that I could make the inner me shut up, but then I couldn't help but think that she has a point. If this continues, I might really lose the bet. Chad might find that someone he likes and he'll forget about me.

The image of the blonde girl in front of me clinging to Chad's arm with her dear life suddenly pops out in my head. And it literally made my blood boil.

No way. He should only look at me. Gosh I'm getting angry with myself and I haven't got a single idea why. Was it because of the fact that I might lose the deal or I might lose... him?

No! What are you thinking? That's crazy talk, Courtney. Well talking to yourself sounds crazy enough but... what the hell? This is about a deal. Just a deal.

Oh dear heaven. I want this class to be over. I need to talk to Chad and make some ground rules. This is getting so unfair.

And as if the heaven heard me, the school bell rang, signaling that class is over and it's time for lunch.

Finally! I said to myself.

As I stood up, I gathered my things in a rush. But then some evil part of me wanted to do something first just to keep something inside me satisfied. I walked straight to the door and waited patiently to the annoying blonde that had been fantasizing Chad for the rest of the class.

I discretely move my feet to side, tripping her in the process. Her face fell on the ground. It's mean, yeah, but I haven't done that childish play in my whole life. Only now.

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?" I walked towards her direction and offered my help to stand her up.

She took my hand and smiled at me. "Thanks Courtney. Must be my heels." She said as she gestured at her three inches stilettos.

"Yeah. It's really slippery here." I told her with a smirk.

That's what you need, a fall from your daydream so that you could snap back to reality.

That was mean and very unnecessary. Never result to violence.

I know. But I couldn't help it! She made every nerve in my body do it.

But then it's wrong and a disappointment.

Where is this guilt trip coming from? As far as I remembered, you never existed months before. When did this happen?

It doesn't matter. What matters most is... karma is a bitch, Court.

I hate you. I wish you never came into my life.

Great, I was having internal battle with myself, again. I was talking to myself, again. Could this day be crazier than ever?

I turned to the blonde girl and gave her a genuine smile. "Be careful next time. I'm... I'm... sorry I have to go." I said with a rush.

That's not counted as an apology.

Oh shut up. You're the unnecessary here. You're not the boss of me. Courtney Collins never takes orders from others. Even to her own subconscious.

* * * * * *

I went straight to the locker area to meet Terry there. Then what I saw really got my eyes rolling. A girl slipped a note at Chad's locker. Seriously?

"Hey Court. What's up?" Terry suddenly made her presence known. But I didn't face her. My eyes were still focused on the girl who's still in front of Chad's locker. What is she waiting for? Christmas?

"Oh. Is that jealousy I smell in the air?" Terry teased while sniffing at me.

I fully intend on ignoring her but then knowing Terry, I know that she would just keep on teasing me until I give her some piece of my mind. "Will you stop it already, Ter? I'm not jealous. Courtney was and never will be jealous. Okay?" I told her sternly.

"Whatever you say, Court." Surprisingly Terry didn't press anymore on that subject. Well because she has other thing grilling on her mind. "So what's your plan?"

"What plan?" I asked her as we walk our way to the cafeteria.

"Look, Court. If this hottie Chad fever continues, he might find another girl and forget about you... oh I mean the deal." She finished her word with a grin.

I raised my brow at her and said, "Another girl? Come on, Terry. You know those wannabee girls are nothing compared to me."

"But he told you that you're not his type, remember?" She tried to enlighten me. I just glared at her and sat at our usual table in the cafeteria.

"I'm not having this conversation, Terry. I'm not worried at all. Trust me, I have everything under control." I looked at her and gave her my best looking confident smile.

"I just hope you have a plan B. In case... you know."

"I don't need plan B. And there is no in case." I told her. Good thing it's only Terry and I on this table at the moment. Because if not, I'm pretty sure that I will be answering more questions from them and defending myself would be harder.

Well I hate to admit but I was kind of starting to get worried. I never expected things to go this way. And I wouldn't tell and admit this in front of Terry. Never. Even though I know for a fact that she was somehow seeing right through me.

What am I going to do?

"Look. Chad's here with his friend. What are you going to do?" Terry asked. I looked at the direction she was gesturing at and saw Chad walking towards our way. Obviously he was too engrossed to whatever conversation he was having with his friend that he didn't notice me looking at him.

"As usual, nothing." I told her. "I never make the first move." I finished in a proud tone.

I turned my head back to our table, waited for Chad to pass by and approach me. Any minute now he'd talk to me and I'll pretend that I didn't see him coming.

But then the waiting was too long. He should be here, right? What's taking him so long? Out of curiosity, I looked up and there I saw Chad and his friend sitting at two tables away from us. His back was facing my direction.

He passed by. He passed by without even looking at me or greeting me? Was he blind or he's purposely ignoring me? He's definitely playing the chase game, huh?

"Hey Terry. You have connections, right? Can you ask for Chad's number?" I was trying my best to mask out the irritation in my voice.

 "Oh. What happened to I never make the first move huh?" Terry teased me. She's clearly enjoying this.

"Come on. Just give me the damn number." I said, still trying my very best to suppress the annoyance I was feeling at the moment.

Terry chuckled before she stood up and went to her mission. After a few minutes, she got back with Chad's number from who knows who. 

"Thanks." I muttered as she handed me the details.

"No biggie. If you need anything else, all you need to do is ask." She offered. I just replied her with a smile. A genuine one. "And oh, if you need counseling... I'm free." She added with a smirk.

This time, I just make a face and rolled my eyes to her in response.

I didn't waste any more time and immediately compose a message for Chad. I thought for it for a second, trying to think of something to say to him.

Gosh, I never thought that making the first move would be this hard. It's like I'm endangering my pride her. But... screw the pride, there's much more bigger things needed to address here.

Ohh. Ohh. Like your feelings for him?

I purposely ignore the voice polluting my mind and concentrate more on my message for Chad.

Backyard. After class. I'll wait for you. — Courtney

I was watching his back the whole time, I was waiting for him to read my text. And then seconds after I hit the send button, I saw him pull out his phone. He was probably reading my message.

Good.

Phase one done, now on to phase two.

Wait for the class to end.

* * * * * *

Again, I was having a hard time concentrating on my class because Chad fever was still on. But luckily I was able to survive the rest of my class without pulling another mean girl stunt.

Yey me!

After the last bell rang, I immediately went to the backyard expecting Chad to be there. The thought of him leaning on the tree, waiting for me, create a smile in my face. That was probably the first real smile I have for this day.

But then the smile suddenly disappeared when I reached the backyard and noticed that he's not there.

Why? I asked myself.

Was he on the move of ditching me like what I did to him before? Or he forgot that we're supposed to meet here? Or maybe he didn't care at all because he's a hottie now and he can goof around with other girls swooning over him?

Woah. Maybe this is the karma.

Now I'm back to getting irritated again. Gosh, Chad Treyson is so not good in my mood. He's messing up with my emotion and I haven't got any clue why!

I contemplated on going away but then I found myself sitting under the tree and allowed myself to lose at the serenity of this place. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Hmm.

This is what I need right now. I need a peace of mind. I need to calm my nerves down.

"Looks like someone is enjoying the nature."

I immediately opened my eyes the moment I heard Chad's voice. It definitely gave me a shock. But the most shocking thing was, the first thing that I saw was his face close to mine. It was only inches away from my face!

Then suddenly it was hard to breathe. Where did the serenity go?

I turned away, trying to avoid his hypnotizing stare. "Wha-what are you doing here?" I asked.

He stood up before he answered me. "You asked me to come here remember?"

Oh yeah that. I totally forgot. I was busy thinking that you wouldn't show up okay? Now I wished that you didn't show up at all. My heart couldn't stop beating! It's freaking me out.

Chad offered his hand to help me stand up. But I was being stubborn and refused it. I want to stand on my own. Besides, I wasn't sure what could happen if my hand touches him. I'm unstable at the moment, okay!

"Never mind that. I actually forgot why I asked you to come." I lied. Truth be told, I wanted to get out of here as fast as I can. I don't trust my feelings at this moment. It was as if this was a setup or a trap for something.

So with that I stood up but then I lost my balance. And as cliché as it could be, Chad grabbed my waist and drew me close to his body, as if we're semi hugging, to prevent me from falling.

Oh dear heaven, my heart's beating unevenly as if it will explode any minute now! And he might hear it!

"You okay?" He asked. I could feel his breath to my neck that sent shivers down to my spine. I wanted to pull myself from him but I couldn't find the strength to do so. I wasn't sure what was happening. Suddenly, I was weak on my knees. But Chad eventually let me go.

"I'm fine. Thanks." I said, lacing my voice with courage and confidence. But then I still couldn't find the bravery to face him. I was blushing like a tomato and I wouldn't want him to see me in this awful and embarrassing state.

"So, you really don't remember why you asked me to come here?" He questioned me. I could feel his eyes were on me.

"It's nothing. I swear. I just wanted to see you alone." My eyes widened the moment I realized what I just said to him.

You've got to be kidding me! Why did I say that? What possessed me to say that out loud!

I summoned all the courage I had in me to look at him and find my way out of this mess. "It's not what you think. What I meant was... since you've been in a spotlight and you have girls running around you. You know... you might... how am I going to say this..." I was literally running out of words.

"Forget about you?" He tried to fill in.

Did he just read my mind and my worries for the past eight hours? If I agree to what he just said, he might think that I'm jealous of those girls and worse; he might think that I'm in love with him! Which is not. No way.

"No. What I'm trying to say is that you might forget about our... our... deal. Yeah, the deal. You know, you might get distracted and... you know what I mean right?" I was talking nonsense. Even I don't know what I just said. All I know is I wanted to make a point here.

"Yeah well about that. This so called attention is really getting annoying. I just stop wearing glasses and I comb my hair then suddenly the girls think that I'm a model and some think that I'm a new student. I'm still the same guy they used to pass by the hall, you know? Some even wants to be part of the drama club and stuff but... I don't need pretentious acts. I want something real. Like they will join because they want to."

"Yeah. Totally, Chad. Totally. They're nothing but fakes. Those are the type of girls who're just after your looks. I mean, they make up stories about you being a model and stuff, they slip notes to your locker, and then joining the drama club just to have a chance to kiss you? I was like, no blonde, better luck next time. And—"

I looked up and saw Chad's brows were furrowed in confusion.

Okay maybe I overdid that, I might have said too much and things that weren't supposed to be said. "—And that's not cool." I finished lamely.

Gosh, couldn't I be more embarrassing?   

"You're right. It's not cool at all. Besides, I don't want their attention." He leaned closer and lowered his head to look at me straight in my eyes that literally got my stomach do a summersault. "I only want your attention, Courtney." He voiced out steadily as he finished with a smile.

He literally caught me off guard and he took my breath away. I could feel my jaw dropped on the floor and my heart just exploded.

What the hell was that all about Chad Treyson! You're obviously messing with my mind, my heart, and my emotions!

Oh karma. You are such a bitch!

— END OF CHAPTER 21 —