Chapter 099
HANNAH
I tried to arrange my thoughts into words. I was aware that the seconds were ticking past, that I was staring, and Edward needed an answer. I could see his lips start to move, about to frame the same question he had just asked me.
Yes. The obvious answer to give him was yes.
I was just about to say the word when there was a slight commotion at the edge of the crowd. It parted. Julia stepped out to the front. Again.
What the hell?
She knew better than to start with the insults and name-calling in the presence of the prince, didn't she?
I needn't have bothered. She had eyes only for Prince Edward.
"Hello again, Prince Edward," she said with what I supposed was her most charming smile.
Edward looked a little confused as he turned to face her. "Hi. Haven't we already met before? You're Julia, right?"
Julia looked like her birthday had come early at the mention of her name. She must have felt special that Edward remembered her. "Yes. Yes, we have. I just wanted to say it would be an honor to show you around the library. I visit it often. It's my most favourite place in school. I'm also a member of the reading club."
I couldn't believe it!
I stood rock still, staring at Julia. The girl had completely blown me over with her lies. Wow. What else would she lie about? That she had been to the moon or she founded a charity to help the poor in her pack. What lie could she tell that would be more surprising than this?
The only thing remotely true that had come out of her mouth in the last few seconds was that the library was one of her favourite places in the school.
But she didn't go there to read. She went there to trade and listen to gossip. I was damned if I was going to let her get away with lying through her teeth.
"You know, that's strange, Julia," I said, loud enough to draw everyone's attention to me. "It's news to me that you are a member of the reading club, the same reading club I'm in."
"Maybe you haven't noticed me," she replied rather quickly. “You’re often distracted, and you lack focus.”
Her tone was pleasant enough, but her eyes flashed fire, warning me to back off.
Not a chance.
"Okaaay." I drew out the word. "If you're really a member of the book club, then what book did we read last week?"
"It was a book on poetry, medieval poetry," she said without missing a beat. She turned to one of the girls hanging around who was a member of the book club. "Isn't that what we read last week, Chloe?"
The girl glanced at me, then at the Lycan Prince. She blushed a little to find him watching her keenly and shook her head.
"No," she said in a small voice. "It was a novel." Laughter erupted from every corner at Chloe’s response, and even Edward chuckled and shook his head.
Julia had been expecting Chloe to cover up her lies, of course, but who would want to lie in the presence of the Lycan Prince? And I bet Julia would have bullied Chloe for being in the book club, considering she knew she was a member.
"Oh. A novel." Julia gave the prince the full force of her smile. "I totally forgot and must have mixed it up. I'm in so many clubs and I have so much to do all the time so-"
"Or the easiest explanation is you're not a member of the club. In fact, if I remember correctly, you have told me several times that the reading club is a place for nerds and losers. How come you're suddenly claiming to be a member now? Do you want to be a loser?”
Julia's smile froze in place until it looked more than a grimace. This was great. Another second, and she would lose it.
The prince cleared his throat, ending the moment.
"Thank you very much for your offer, Julia, but I would rather go with Hannah," he said. “And lying is one of my least desirable traits if you’re trying to impress me.”
Julia gave a stiff jerk of her head. Her cheeks and neck were a dusky red. She kept batting her ridiculously long false lashes.
It wasn't the out-of-control reaction I had been hoping for, but it was totally great. More and more, people were beginning to see her true colors.
"Hannah?" The prince's voice snapped my attention back to him.
"Of course I would love to show you around," I nodded.
As Edward and I rounded the corner, I heard an excited conversation break out. Apparently, Edward and I were going to be the new topics of conversation in the school.
Wherever we strolled, people walked slowly. They stared. They whispered.
"Um, I think it might be fair to warn you though that I'm not really popular around here, so you being with me might be messing up your reputation," I pointed out, then added, "Even though I'm popular to some, it's for the wrong reasons."
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