Chapter 13: Alice

Nate POV

"And who is the girl for you to defend?" The tall, grumpy man with big black eyes seemed important—he was one of the few customers who usually patronized my aunt. Despite his significance, he was very rude to Billie, calling her names when she was already disliked by others. I had no choice but to stand up to him, and now he was questioning my connection to her. His arrogance was evident; he was proud of his status.

I could boast about my father being the heir to one of the most profitable businesses in New York before his demise, but I wasn't raised that way. I despised the idea of acting tough, especially not in front of Billie.

“She is my…” I noticed the entire room freeze at my confession, even Alice seemed interested. “She is my friend,” I said, locking eyes with the man. “Close friend.”

His expression brightened for a moment. “Close friend, you say?”

I nodded, knowing I had to tread carefully; I couldn't afford to offend my aunt's VIP customer.

I invited her on a date to relieve ourselves of the long week of school projects. So I thought we might need something to Cool off, I brought her here, and she helped me through my project so I decided to treat her to a VIP”

The man's face fell off. Of course, he could see my reason. He smiled.

“Sorry for being an idiot, I know you I just kind of freaked out when I saw you with someone old enough to be your senior, and you know you might get a bad reputation and ruin your father's image”

I glared at him. Did he know my father?

I looked at all the men in the room smiling at me. Of course, they all knew him.

“Okay then,” he said looking at Billie. “Sorry about that”

Billie smiled. “It's okay sir” I could see a hurt in her eyes when The man said she was old enough to be my senior. I kind of want to strangle him.

Alice stepped forward. “Nate let produce to your table, Billie if you may”

Billie nodded and walked after Alice I was following from a distance.

As soon we reached our table, Alice dragged a chair out for Billie. Billie gave her a gentle smile. I cursed I was supposed to be doing that for her. Not Alice. I sat down opposite her.

“Alice my usual,” I said. Alice turned to Billie.

“And what about you, since you have to watch your weight?”

Billie looked up, shocked. I cursed under my breath; what was Alice getting at? I had never seen her speak like this before, and she seemed particularly eager to provoke Billie.

Billie responded with a gentle smile, despite feeling hurt. “I would go for a salad.”

I shot Billie a look. A salad? I wondered what Alice had said that affected her. Alice smiled as if she’d done nothing wrong, then with a swift toss of her hair—deliberately flaunting her elegance—she walked away from our table, glancing back at us.

I turned to Billie. “Um, sorry about that. It was sudden and unexpected.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Billie replied.

I guess so.

**Billie's POV**

“I understand,” I said. I knew he meant it. He didn’t know that girl would end up like that; at first, I thought she was nice, but she proved me wrong. I realized she was just like the other girls who had a crush on Nate—I mean, who wouldn’t?

Alice brought us our meals while Nate had bagels with lox and cream cheese. I had a salad.

“Enjoy!” Alice beamed. Nate nodded at her, not wanting to make eye contact.

“Thank you,” I said to her. She marched off without responding, but I didn’t let it bother me as I dug into my meal.

It went smoothly as Nate ate and talked at the same time, telling me about his family—his mother's relocation to this small town, his father's demise, and tales about his siblings. He was smiling the whole time, enjoying sharing his family's stories. Meanwhile, I didn't feel the same. Blake was my arch-rival; that's how she viewed us, and my parents were always distant, often focusing on Blake. However, after a recent incident at school, they had diverted a bit of their attention to me. I knew it was only temporary, though, until they forgave Blake and returned to their usual ways.

Nate was aware of my sister, so he had a clear understanding of who she was and wisely didn't ask about my family, knowing it was a complicated relationship.

“Hey, Ann,” Nate said. “I have to use the restroom if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, I’ll wait for you here,” I replied.

As I sat by the table, I noticed Alice walking towards me with a confident stride. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time and when Nate left she decided to use this to her advantage. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, and I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"You're really fat, Billie," Alice said with a wicked grin, her voice dripping with malice. "And don't get too addicted to Nate. He's only going to hurt you."

My face flushed with embarrassment and anger, but before I could respond, Alice continued.

"Nate's a playboy, Billie," Alice sneered. "Getting girls into bed is easy for him. And you know why he's interested in you?"

I shook my head, unsure of with malice. "He wanted a challenge, something different. And that's where you come in, fat Billie."

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Alice's words were cruel and hurtful, and I couldn't believe she'd say something like that to me. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let Alice see me cry.

"Nate's just using you for his amusement," Alice continued. "He's going to get bored with you soon, and then he'll move on to his next conquest."

I felt a surge of anger and humiliation, but before I could respond, Nate walked back into the room, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nate asked, noticing the tension.

"We should go visit another place," Nate suggested, trying to diffuse the awkwardness.

I was tired, I also wanted to explore more but Alice's hurtful words still lingered in my mind. "I'm tired, Nate. Let's just go home."

“Okay then,” he said.

Alice smiled” See you some other time Billie”

I nodded. “Yes see you”

I caught her glaring her eyes at me.

How many of these do I have to endure? I just hope they don't get the wrong idea of me falling for Nate.