7

After changing back into her regular clothes, Scarlett scoured the internet for memes that were funny or relevant enough to share on her social media. It was a full-time job, taking up more of her time than homework, but somebody had to drudge through the sea of endless posts to pick out the gems.

There were a lot of memes about men, due to the trending hashtag #notallmen. Scarlett steered clear, careful not to take a stance one way or another. She couldn't deal with people arguing on her posts. The only valid response was a laughter emoji.

It wasn't long before the dreaded message appeared in her inbox. She was going to have to deal with Sienna’s bitching for weeks, maybe even months if she still wanted to hang out here with the same frequency. Deep in her heart, Scarlett almost hoped that her bestie would stop hanging out here so much. Yes, it was a normal teenager thing to do, but sometimes she wished to be… herself. Abnormal. Animal.

Scarlett’s brow shaped into a confused frown as she read the message.

"I forgot to get his number, what a dope! Can you give it to me please?"

Shrugging to herself, Scarlett forwarded the number. Maybe Sienna wanted to have a go at him for being a dick on their date. It seemed like the kind of thing she'd do. Her friend wasn’t the sort to let any sort of insult go unpunished.

Seconds later, Adrian stormed into her room, eyes wide and questioning, holding out his phone as if it was made of uranium.

"Why would you give her my number?" he asked.

"Erm, well, she... asked for it," Scarlett said, shrinking under the fierceness of his gaze. Up until now he’d been laid back, but she now saw he could be scary when he wanted to be. "Did she have a go at you?"

"No." Adrian shook his head, flashing a humourless smile. "She wanted to thank me for the lovely time she had. The girls a freaking maniac. I was horrible to her."

Adrian ran his hand through his dark hair and breathed out a puff of air before turning back to face her.

"I'm not going on another date with her," he said. "So don't even bother asking me, okay?"

Scarlett nodded. She'd figured it would be all over once Sienna realised Adrian was too much of a grumpy dickhead to be a viable boyfriend option.

She felt the dreaded sickness of anxiety return, wondering how Sienna was going to react.

'What if she never wants to see me again?' Scarlett wondered.

"Maybe you weren't enough of a Dick to her," Scarlett tried. "Maybe you could just—"

"No," Adrian said. "The answer is no."

He was shaking his head as he left, slamming the door behind him so hard it ricocheted back and hit the wall—luckily cushioned by the dressing gown that hung over the hook.

When Sienna messaged her, asking why Adrian was ignoring her messages, she told him Adrian had a friend over. She added that it was a male friend when Sienna asked, eyeballs practically popping from her head.

'Why didn't I just say he had a girlfriend in the first place?' she wondered, kicking herself. 'That would have solved everything.'

This information seemed to placate her as she became quit. She even posted a picture on her social media of herself at the bowling alley. Thankfully, Adrian wasn't in the picture with her.

When she went to bed her mind was filled with theoretical scenarios that could play out tomorrow. She wanted to be prepared. To know what to say to Sienna.

Most of her plans depended on Adrian being nice to her. Maybe if he played along, the 'relationship potential' would fizzle out on its own and Sienna would find someone else to fixate on. The girl was like a butterfly, flitting from guy to guy. It was only a matter of time before she got bored with Adrian and found someone more interesting.

The next morning Adrian avoided her like the plague. He had to know she would pester him if she got the chance.

When it was time to leave, her mother asked her to walk him in and make sure he got to the reception okay.

"I'm sure I'll manage," Adrian said with a frown. He still didn’t grasp the importance of acting human. Normal people couldn’t smell their way to their destination.

"Of course," Scarlett said, grabbing him by the arm.

He looked down, giving a grumpy look that was probably intended as a warning not to mention Sienna.

She couldn't help herself.

"Will you be nice to her?" Scarlett asked in her most pleading tone.

"No," he uttered in reply.

"Okay, then, will you just... not be mean to her?" she tried again, lowering her expectations.

Adrian sighed, eyes flashing almost yellow. "No."

As they reached the front gates of the school, Scarlett began to feel sick and desperate. The school was a modern building, built 5 years ago when the town's population increased to the level one school was no longer sufficient.

She walked her stepbrother to the well-signposted reception, giving him one last sad and pleading look before leaving him in the hands of the school's receptionist.

'Thank God I have double art this morning,' Scarlett thought. It was a class she shared with none of her friends—a chance for her to be alone and creative. 'My favourite part of the week.'

At break time she had to listen to Sienna harping on about how amazing her date had been. After listening to Adrian's account, she could only figure the pair had fallen into alternate universes inside that bowling alley.

Rose and Tamara listened attentively, oo-ing and ahh-ing in all the right places as Scarlett nodded, trying not to frown too openly.

"Where is he?" Sienna asked, looking about on her third circuit of the courtyard.

"I dunno," Scarlett shrugged when all eyes turned to her for answers. "He never replies to me. I don't think he likes me that much."

"Oh, he does," Sienna said with a wide smile. "He told me so."

She didn't have to feign her surprise at this statement—she genuinely thought he hated her most of the time.

When they didn't find him, the girls returned to the building, making their way to the English class. She tried to concentrate on the poem they were studying, a Hawk Roosting, but was bombarded with questions from her friends.

When lunchtime finally rolled around her stomach was tied in such a tight knot the thought of eating made her gag. She queued and selected the vegan option because it seemed the lightest and easiest to eat.

Her heart dropped when she saw Adrian sitting at the alternative kids table next in between Damien and Shane, and opposite Erin—the sole female of their group. Erin was blushing and throwing him small, shy looks across the table.

‘Maybe he does have that animal magnetism thing,’ Scarlett figured, feeling sulky and slighted that she hadn’t been born with this passive ability.

He was still laughing and talking as Sienna spotted him and made a beeline to where he sat.

Scarlett grabbed her arm, trying to deter her. "He said he was going to make his own mates, remember?"

Sienna pulled away, screwing her face up in disgust, determined to complete her mission.

"Adrian," she said, standing at the table with her hand on her hips. "Come sit with us."

"No thanks," he uttered without looking up at her.

"You don't want to sit with these losers," she pressed, curling up her lip.

"How fucking dare you," Adrian said. He spoke quietly, but the impact of his words silenced everyone present. "You don't get to decide who is a loser."

"I do, actually," Sienna shot back.

"Then I guess I'm a loser," Adrian said. He turned to his new friends, hugging his sides and pretend crying as though her words had caused physical pain. They let out a small chorus of laughter, much to Sienna's annoyance.

"Ugh," Sienna made a disgusted sound. "I can't believe I went on a date with you."

"You dated her?" Damien asked him, recoiling in shock.

"Oh, yeah, our date," Adrian said as if he'd already forgotten about it. "Want to know why I agreed to go on a date with her?"

Scarlett felt her heart thud in her chest, threatening to explode. She grabbed his attention, shaking her head with wild, pleading eyes, mentally begging him not to say it.

'Please don't say it, Adrian, please,' she thought, pressing her palms together in desperation. 'Oh please don't say it!'