Loving The Jerk Who Might Have Feelings

Alexander D. Winters

Stupidity isn’t about your brain capacity, or your GPA, or even if you do your homework.

Stupidity is when you don’t think before you act. At least, it was when it came it Alex.

Looking back, it seemed like a really stupid thing to do, but it’s not like he could change it. Instead of doing the responsible thing and explaining to Athena the situation he was stuck in, he kissed her and kept secretly kissing her for the past two months. Instead of being a man and asking her out formally, he avoided the relationship subject as best as he could. Sadly, Athena liked him too much to complain, and unfortunately, he used that to his advantage.

“Hey,” Athena says entering the common room. He looks at her with longing, but merely responds with a smirk. Today she’s wearing a pink tube top and a black swishy skirt. It’s winter and she’s wearing practically no clothes, just for him. He kind of likes it though.

She sits down right next to him and he can feel the cold radiating from her body.

Automatically he puts his arm around her and hugs her close. She sighs happily and places her head on his shoulder, “So, I was talking to Joshua and he mentioned something really interesting...”

Alex groans and automatically tries to remember everything he ever confided in his best friend. “If about it’s that time when I frenched Patricia Bakerson on a field trip—“

“No, it’s not that, though I’m really curious to hear about this Patricia Bakerson—“

Alex rolls his eyes, “Try not to kill her, will you?”

She ignores him, “So Joshua mentioned you’re kind of rich...”

Alex sighs, “And?”

“How rich?”

Alex narrows his eyes at her, “Let’s just say my lip rings cost more than the tuition to this place”

Athena gasps and stares his lips, “Oh my gosh, then why are you so—“

“Unclassy?”

She snorts, “That’s not a word, but yes”

He shrugs, “It’s my dad’s money not mine. All the perks, none of the responsibilities”

Athena exhales heavily in admiration and leans back against the couch, probably thinking about his life and how glorious it must be. Only Alex knows it sucks, and if it was possible, he’d buy himself a new one, but why not humor her?

“So do you, like, have butlers and a cleaning staff?” she asks with wide eyes.

Alex smirks and pops his collar like a total doofus, “Yeah”

Athena laughs gives him a flirtatious shove, “I highly doubt that”

“Really!” He exclaims shoving her back slightly, “I have dozens of them back at the mansion and then at my—“

Suddenly her ringer goes off. It’s some song that Alex doesn’t recognize; the singer singing about love and unicorns or some shit like that.

She looks at the caller I.D., furrows her eyebrows, and tentatively answers the phone, “Hello?”

Alex hears some sort of strangled cry from the speaker and Athena flinches, “What? Why? What, that’s stupid! Oh my god, he’s such an idiot... look, I’ll be right there”

She hangs up, shoves the phone back in her skirt pocket, and sighs angrily. Alex stays quiet and watches her with a kind of amusement one gets when watching a kitten get angry.

Then she huffs and crosses her arms across her chest, “Y’know, it’s like there’s never a peaceful moment around here!”

Alex tries his best not to smile.

“And boys are stupid”

“You changing teams, Princess?”

Athena glares at him and it reminds him, yet again, why he finds her absolutely irresistible, “Maybe I am, wouldn’t you like that?”

He laughs and steals a quick kiss before she’s gone to get in the middle of whatever drama is going on.

____________________

Athena V-L Night

I huff all the way to the girl’s dorm, barely even feeling the freezing cold. It’s the middle of December! Gosh, don’t people have the decency to leave me alone—no, that sounds self-centered and stupid. I do care what goes on in my friends’ lives. Even Lilith’s and especially Nate’s.

I don’t bump into my brother on the way to my room, which is probably good since I’d probably strangle him, but now I have to deal with Lilith. Shamelessly, I knock quietly, hoping she doesn’t hear me, but she must’ve been standing by the door because it flew open the moment my knuckle grazed the wood.

“Oh, Athena!” She sobs and throws herself into my arms. I stumble back, but wrap my arms around her none-the-less and walk with her back inside, closing the door. I try to get her to her bed, but she just clings on to me for dear life. Three months ago she demanded I stay out of her way, now I’m suddenly her only friend? Oh, dear.

“It’s okay” I say feebly patting her back, “I mean, Nate is just being stupid. He’ll come back and beg your forgiveness. Last time he hid my make-up in the dryer to mess with me, but he saved it before Mom turned it on”

She pulls away but she’s till hiccuping, “Your comparing our broken relationship with sibling rivalry?”

“I- well, when you say it like that—“

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do! H-he was the first decent guy I’ve gone out with in a long-long time!” she takes a deep breath but it gets stuck in her throat and she goes back to crying.

“Um, well, I think you probably should give him some time to think it over, y’know? He’s probably really devastated and crying his eyes out”

___________________

Alexander D. Winters

“Well, well, who’s the one with a leash around their neck now?”

Alex sighs but reluctantly turns his head and looks at Nate. He looks triumphant somehow.

Maybe a bit crazed, “Look, just because you have a crush on Athena doesn’t mean—“

Suddenly he bursts out laughing (a bit hysterically), “Is that what you think?”

Alex glares at him, “Yes, I really do”

Nate drops his smile and rolls his eyes, “Whatever, dude, I just can’t believe you let her own you like that. You’re whipped, man. I feel sorry for you. Next thing you know she’ll be dressing you up and painting your nails”

For some reason Nate’s words bother Alex. He clears his throat and puts out his best cocky tone, “Wouldn’t be the first time she saw me naked, so it’s all good”

Nate narrows his eyes a bit, “Whatever, Alex, you guys are all lovey-dovey and kissy face. Ain’t nothing sexual about that”

Alex smirks, “What can I say? I don’t kiss and tell, though that certainly isn’t all we do”

Suddenly Nate stands up angrily. He makes his wimpy hands into fists and marches over to Alex, “I will kill you if you touch her”

Alex snorts, totally unimpressed, “Guess I’m already dead” too bad he doesn’t see the dangerous glint in Nate’s eyes or how he was trembling all over. As if about to explode.