2

Adrian was sat in front of the television, playing a first-person shooter, and basically hogging the entire living room. Not that Scarlett was in any position to complain. She had a favour to ask. A huge favour. 

'I'll pretend it's not a favour,' Scarlett decided. 'I'll make out as if he's the luckiest guy on the planet.'

"So, what did you think to my friend, Sienna?" she asked.

Adrian pulled off his headset, flashed her an annoyed looked for interrupting him and asked what she wanted.

"Did you like Sienna?" she repeated.

"Your blonde mate?" Adrian asked and made a puking gesture. “Even for a human, she was annoying. I don’t know how you put up with this shit day in, day out. If I had my way I’d tear their scrawny throats out.”

"She's the most popular girl at school and she wants to go on a date with you," Scarlett continued with a wide grin, still trying to make the idea sound appealing, though she knew it was a losing battle.

His face confirmed he wasn't falling for it.

"Hard pass," he uttered before slipping his headset over his ears and continuing to shout instructions to his friends.

Letting out a dejected sigh, Scarlett figured she had no choice but to let Sienna know. The girl had been pestering her to ask since last night, and there were only so many excuses she could make.

"He said no," Scarlett typed and put a load of sad face emojis.

"Why?" Sienna typed back almost instantly. She pictured the other girl grasping her phone in white knuckled hands, staring at the screen without pause to blink.

"He thinks it would be weird to date my friend," Scarlett lied. If she told the truth, it would only make Sienna lash out in anger, and when that happened it was Scarlett who bore the brunt of it.

"Then convince him it won't be weird," Sienna typed.

Tutting, Scarlett realised the lie was a mistake. 

"What now, what now?" she muttered to herself.

"I'll do my best," she replied.

After a few moments, Sienna sent a threatening message, warning her that her best had better be good enough to change his mind.

"If you get in my way again, we won't be friends much longer, then he won't have to worry about it being weird," the message read.

Scarlett knew from experience that the threat wasn't an idle one. After a fight over a boy they both wanted, Sienna had frozen her out for weeks, convincing all their other friends to do the same. Her clique wasn’t exactly nice to the other students at her school, meaning she had no backup friends or even associates to hang out with. She'd been forced to sit, eat and study alone for those horrible days.

'All because he chose me over her,' Scarlett thought. 

She had never fully trusted Sienna or any of her other friends since then, even after Sienna 'forgave' her and let things go back to normal. Being part of the toxic 'in crowd' had its advantages, but it was also very lonely and scary when you knew you were one mistake away from being ostracised. Like walking on eggshells.

Adrian was still playing his game when Scarlett approached him with a cup of tea—only a drop of milk and two sugars, just how he liked it.

"Gimme two minutes, lads," he said, slipping his headset off and looking at her with suspicion.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"I'm always nice to you," Scarlett replied. This was a lie. A blatant and pointless one.

She pulled up her sleeve to hold the hot cup and offered him the handle.

"Have you poisoned it or something?" he asked as he accepted it. After taking a sip he nodded. "Very nice, thank you."

Scarlett took a deep breath. "About my friend Sienna, she really isn't as bad as she seems when you first meet her. And you have to admit she is very attractive and sexy."

"I'm not interested," Adrian said, regarding her with suspicious eyes.

"Maybe you could give her a chance?" Scarlett smiled and nodded.

"Why?" he asked. 

It was a fair question, but what was she supposed to say? So I don't get kicked out of the popular group for failing to get Queen Sienna a date with you? So I don’t lose the ‘just a normal girl’ cover I have spent years cultivating?

Adrian took another sip and placed the cup on the antique coffee table next to the coaster instead of on top of it. A couple of rings had appeared on her mother's precious table, yet she wouldn't complain to or about Adrian. Making him and his dad—Ron—feel at home here was of the utmost importance according to her mother.

"Well, she's my friend and she really likes you," Scarlett said. It was the truth. Not the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but this was her living room, not a court of law.

Adrian let out a scoffing sound, almost spitting his mouthful of tea in her face. "Really likes me? I literally said one sentence to her."

"I guess it must be your innate animal attraction," Scarlett said and shrugged with far too much enthusiasm.

"Whatever," Adrian said. "She's not my type."

"Will you give her a chance anyway?" Scarlett asked, eyes wide and pleading.

As she persisted, he cocked his head and squinted at her, becoming suspicious.

"Why?" he asked again.

"We just went over this," Scarlett whined, tired of talking in circles. All she wanted was for him to say yes.

As she felt the life and hope draining from her body, an idea occurred to her. 

"I'll pay for the date," she offered. "And you can swap bedrooms with me. I know you want the big room."

It was a great offer, but it only made him more suspicious.

"Why would you think that? I like the box room. It's cosy," he said. 

This had to be a lie, that or he had changed his mind on the topic. Yesterday she'd overheard him complaining to his dad about the size of his new room. He hadn't wanted to move here and was punishing his father by complaining about every tiny little thing. Back home he’d been treated with respect and reverence because of his status. Here, he would have to act like and be treated the same as any other ordinary guy. It was like being an omega, as he put it.

"You can have my TV in your room?" Scarlett offered.

"Where?" he scoffed. "Can in levitate?"

"Good point," Scarlett said, looking down in deep thought. What else could she offer him?

"I'll pay you," she said at last, smiling like a maniac.

He looked at her like she'd just offered to give him a naked lap dance. "Look, I appreciate the tea and all the generous and borderline creepy offers, but it's not going to happen. Sorry. I have to live with these awful humans but that doesn’t mean I have to date one."

Giving up for the moment, Scarlett trudged back off to the kitchen. She began to tidy and clean, sweeping up a pile of rice someone had spilt and left for someone else. It was probably Ron. He loved to cook more than he liked to clean up after himself. A foible Mum found cute now but was bound to tire of before long.

As she rubbed the last grains from her sweaty palms, the doorbell rang.

'Please don't be Sienna,' she thought.

As she pulled the door open her stomach was in knots. 

"Hello?" she said.