Facades

I pinned my phone against my ear as I searched through the shelves of Barnes and Noble. "He apparently just has a really bad reputation around that city. That's what she told me," I informed my sister.

Eric groaned loudly. "I'm starting to think there's something fishy. May doesn't exactly hold back the details on that shit. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should believe her. She has a better idea about this kind of stuff than I do, you know?" I said. I pulled out a book and scanned the back of it before putting it back. "I've ignored him since he emailed that day. Maybe he'll just disappear and it'll be over."

Erin scoffed. "I doubt it. I have a feeling this guy is going to be around for awhile. What was his name? Maybe I'll ask around a bit," she mumbled to herself.

"His name was Tyler-"

"Why, yes my name is Tyler. Talking about me to all your little friends?"

I groaned loudly and turned to face the cocky smirk he wore consistantly. "I'll call you back later, Erin. Someone just happened to show up."

"Wait. Is that him? Mel-" I hung up before she could get anything else out.

"What are you doing here?" I deadpanned.

Tyler completely ignored my question. "What are you looking at?" he asked as he nodded at the book that I'd looked at.

"Nothing. Why are you stalking me?"

"I'm not stalking you. I was looking for a gift for my mom and happened to see you here," he told me. He picked the book off the shelf and studied the cover for a moment before putting it back. "Got any suggestions for books?"

I sighed and moved down the isle, my eyes studying the titles on the sides of the books. "Why don't you go ask customer service?"

"Because I get to talk to you this way." He suddenly stepped in front of me and turned to face me. His smile was missing and he looked rather serious for once. "So why have you been ignoring me all week?" he questioned.

I chewed on my lip and pushed past him, walking to a different isle. "Because I've heard you have a very bad reputation in the city. May and I don't want to be around that so I've stopped responding to you." I ran my finger along book spines until I came to the section I was looking for.

"A bad reputation? What is my reputation exactly?" he questioned, slightly irritated.

"I don't know exactly. Just not a good one," I mumbled.

He let out a dramatic sigh. "How about you two form your own opinions about me. Don't judge me by what everyone else says," he suggested.

I scoffed at that. "I don't want to be around someone that could be a complete douche bag and only wants to sleep with my best friend anyways," I muttered

"But you don't know I'm a douche bag. Maybe I'm supposed to be your best friend in the whole entire world?!" he exclaimed. His normal smile was dancing across his lips again. I lifted my head to look him in the eye. His playful smile slowly settled. "Look, I can tell you're not the type of girl to just accept something someone tells you. You have to explore and learn for yourself. Don't you?" My eyes drifted back to the books on the shelves. "Exactly. So. Why don't you give me a chance to prove myself?" he asked.

I hated that he was right about this. I grabbed two books off the shelf and held them out to him. "Fine. You get one shot. You mess that up, that's it. You leave me alone. Okay?" I stated firmly.

He grinned. "Deal. What are these for?" he questioned as he looked down at the books.

"They're for your mom. She'll probably like them," I told him before dropping them in his hands and walking out of the store.

This was going to be a trip for sure.