Chapter 3 · My Stuffed Bear Heard Him Cry

The air felt frozen.

Connor's hand hovered awkwardly in mid-air, caught between moving forward or backing off.

His pricey suit jacket was thinking, 'Don't move, man. The armpit's about to split. This thing's a fake, and the quality sucks. If it tears, your dingy undershirt will be on full display.'

I nearly lost it trying not to laugh.

Only then did I know nothing was real about this arrogant, rich kid.

Seeing this, Alison jumped in front of Connor, acting all high and mighty as she yelled at Blake, "Blake, what are you trying to do? Are you gonna hit someone again?

"Is beating people up the only thing you know? Paisley has got the worst luck ever, being your girlfriend."

She turned to me, her eyes full of contempt and frustration. "Paisley, look at him. He's like a rabid dog. Connor is a civilized man, so he won't get mad at Blake.

"Aren't you going to say yes to Connor? Are you seriously planning to spend your whole life suffering with Blake?"

Blake's veins were popping on the back of his hand, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.

He was struggling to keep his temper in check.

Even the floor tiles under his feet seemed to share his frustration. They thought, 'Hang in there, bro. One punch and all that effort to keep up your "changed man" act goes down the drain. Paisley's gonna be terrified of you.

'But damn, Alison's got a filthy mouth. We kinda wanna trip her.'

Watching Blake's shoulders shake ever so slightly, rage bubbled up inside me out of nowhere.

Not at Blake, but at the two clowns right in front of me.

I reached out, grabbed the coffee, and everyone stared in shock.

I jammed the straw in and took a sip. Perfect taste, still nice and warm.

"Tastes good," I said coolly.

Blake suddenly turned to me, the fierceness in his eyes melting into surprise, and then bursting into uncontrollable joy.

Even his ripped jeans were celebrating as they thought, 'Oh yeah. Paisley drank it. She didn't mind at all. She still loves Blake. I knew it. That slick-haired dude is nothing.'

Connor's face went ashen with rage.

Feeling his pride take a hit, he jabbed a finger at me, voice trembling with fury. "Paisley, don't take my kindness for granted. How dare you embarrass me for some broke nobody?"

Alison shrieked, "Paisley, have you lost your mind? You've got a rich prize like Connor, and you're throwing yourself away on garbage?"

"Garbage?" I put down the coffee and stood up, giving Alison and Connor a chilly once-over. "Alison, since you're so into Connor, why don't you chase after him?

"Oh, and make sure he keeps the key he rented safe. If he scratches the paint on it, six hundred's probably a huge deal for him."

Everyone freaked out.

Connor's face turned pale as he quickly stuffed his car key into his pocket. "What... What are you even saying?"

Alison freaked out, too. "You're lying."

I ignored them and turned to Blake.

He was gazing at me blankly, like a big golden retriever being protected by its owner.

"Why are you standing there?" I raised an eyebrow. "We are supposed to head to the library, right?"

Blake looked as if he'd woken from a dream, nodding in a hurry. "Oh... yeah, let's... Let's go to the library."

He reached out to help with my backpack, but his hand froze mid-air, worried I'd reject him.

The backpack straps thought, 'Seriously, grab me already. Or better yet, hold her hand, you dummy.'

With a sigh, I handed him my backpack.

Blake took it like it was some priceless treasure.

We walked out of the classroom with everyone staring after us, their expressions a mess of shock and gossip.

As soon as we walked out the door, I heard Connor shout like a madman behind us. "Paisley, just wait. If you dare show up at my birthday party this weekend, I'll have you begging me for my forgiveness."

Blake froze mid-step, that murderous aura flaring up again.

I grabbed his sleeve and gave it a gentle tug. "Don't mind that moron."

Blake's hostility melted away, and he meekly lowered his head, following behind me like a loyal pup.

In the hallway, his shadow completely covered mine.

His belt buckle was thinking, 'Connor, huh? Birthday party, huh? Threatening Paisley? Just wait, when I get home, I'll signal Blake's dad to buy out that club for Connor's birthday party and turn it into a public toilet.'

I stopped in my tracks.

Buy it out and turn it into a public toilet?

It was bragging, right?

Yeah, I knew Blake had some money. He managed to rent those limited-edition kicks, after all. But this was the swankiest club in the whole city.

I glanced over at Blake.

He had his head down, looking all shy, ears red as a tomato.

He caught me staring and instantly looked up, trying to act all tough. "What? You think I was being soft just now? If you weren't here, I'd have wrecked Connor already!"

I smiled, not calling him out on it, "Blake."

"What?" he replied.

"Let's go to Connor's birthday party this weekend."

Blake frowned. "Why? So, we can watch that clown flex his cash? No way, I gotta work."

His phone thought, 'Yeah, right. You're going to pick out a gift. You wanna get Paisley a necklace, but you're worried it'll freak her out if it's too pricey.

'Now you're torn, thinking whether you should buy a knockoff and keep pretending you're broke, or give her the real deal and claim you snagged it for three bucks at some street stall.]

I stifled a laugh and put on my best serious face. "But I want to go. I want to see how exactly he thinks he'll make me beg."

Blake's eyes turned icy, his fists clenching tight. "He wouldn't dare."

"So." I leaned in close, locking eyes with him, "You gotta protect me. You're coming with me."

Blake swallowed, his gaze nervously flicking away. "Alright. Since you're asking, I'll go with you. This once."

His heart was thundering in his chest, so loud even his clothes couldn't muffle it. It thought, 'Go, go, go! She wants me to go. I'd walk through fire for her. If Connor even thinks about touching Paisley, I'll make his whole family go broke.'

That nagging suspicion in my chest kept growing.

Make Connor's whole family go broke? Blake, were you seriously starting to believe your own bragging? Or did you actually have some ace up your sleeve I didn't know about?

Chapter 3

The air felt frozen.

Connor's hand hovered awkwardly in mid-air, caught between moving forward or backing off.

His pricey suit jacket was thinking, 'Don't move, man. The armpit's about to split. This thing's a fake, and the quality sucks. If it tears, your dingy undershirt will be on full display.'

I nearly lost it trying not to laugh.

Only then did I know nothing was real about this arrogant, rich kid.

Seeing this, Alison jumped in front of Connor, acting all high and mighty as she yelled at Blake, "Blake, what are you trying to do? Are you gonna hit someone again?

"Is beating people up the only thing you know? Paisley has got the worst luck ever, being your girlfriend."

She turned to me, her eyes full of contempt and frustration. "Paisley, look at him. He's like a rabid dog. Connor is a civilized man, so he won't get mad at Blake.

"Aren't you going to say yes to Connor? Are you seriously planning to spend your whole life suffering with Blake?"

Blake's veins were popping on the back of his hand, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.

He was struggling to keep his temper in check.

'But damn, Alison's got a filthy mouth. We kinda wanna trip her.'

Watching Blake's shoulders shake ever so slightly, rage bubbled up inside me out of nowhere.

Not at Blake, but at the two clowns right in front of me.

I reached out, grabbed the coffee, and everyone stared in shock.

I jammed the straw in and took a sip. Perfect taste, still nice and warm.

"Tastes good," I said coolly.

Blake suddenly turned to me, the fierceness in his eyes melting into surprise, and then bursting into uncontrollable joy.

Even his ripped jeans were celebrating as they thought, 'Oh yeah. Paisley drank it. She didn't mind at all. She still loves Blake. I knew it. That slick-haired dude is nothing.'

Connor's face went ashen with rage.

Feeling his pride take a hit, he jabbed a finger at me, voice trembling with fury. "Paisley, don't take my kindness for granted. How dare you embarrass me for some broke nobody?"

Alison shrieked, "Paisley, have you lost your mind? You've got a rich prize like Connor, and you're throwing yourself away on garbage?"

"Garbage?" I put down the coffee and stood up, giving Alison and Connor a chilly once-over. "Alison, since you're so into Connor, why don't you chase after him?

"Oh, and make sure he keeps the key he rented safe. If he scratches the paint on it, six hundred's probably a huge deal for him."

Everyone freaked out.

Connor's face turned pale as he quickly stuffed his car key into his pocket. "What... What are you even saying?"

Alison freaked out, too. "You're lying."

I ignored them and turned to Blake.

He was gazing at me blankly, like a big golden retriever being protected by its owner.

"Why are you standing there?" I raised an eyebrow. "We are supposed to head to the library, right?"

Blake looked as if he'd woken from a dream, nodding in a hurry. "Oh... yeah, let's... Let's go to the library."

He reached out to help with my backpack, but his hand froze mid-air, worried I'd reject him.

The backpack straps thought, 'Seriously, grab me already. Or better yet, hold her hand, you dummy.'

With a sigh, I handed him my backpack.

Blake took it like it was some priceless treasure.

We walked out of the classroom with everyone staring after us, their expressions a mess of shock and gossip.

Blake froze mid-step, that murderous aura flaring up again.

I grabbed his sleeve and gave it a gentle tug. "Don't mind that moron."

Blake's hostility melted away, and he meekly lowered his head, following behind me like a loyal pup.

In the hallway, his shadow completely covered mine.

I stopped in my tracks.

Buy it out and turn it into a public toilet?

It was bragging, right?

Yeah, I knew Blake had some money. He managed to rent those limited-edition kicks, after all. But this was the swankiest club in the whole city.

I glanced over at Blake.

He had his head down, looking all shy, ears red as a tomato.

He caught me staring and instantly looked up, trying to act all tough. "What? You think I was being soft just now? If you weren't here, I'd have wrecked Connor already!"

I smiled, not calling him out on it, "Blake."

"What?" he replied.

"Let's go to Connor's birthday party this weekend."

Blake frowned. "Why? So, we can watch that clown flex his cash? No way, I gotta work."

His phone thought, 'Yeah, right. You're going to pick out a gift. You wanna get Paisley a necklace, but you're worried it'll freak her out if it's too pricey.

'Now you're torn, thinking whether you should buy a knockoff and keep pretending you're broke, or give her the real deal and claim you snagged it for three bucks at some street stall.]

I stifled a laugh and put on my best serious face. "But I want to go. I want to see how exactly he thinks he'll make me beg."

Blake's eyes turned icy, his fists clenching tight. "He wouldn't dare."

"So." I leaned in close, locking eyes with him, "You gotta protect me. You're coming with me."

Blake swallowed, his gaze nervously flicking away. "Alright. Since you're asking, I'll go with you. This once."

That nagging suspicion in my chest kept growing.

Make Connor's whole family go broke? Blake, were you seriously starting to believe your own bragging? Or did you actually have some ace up your sleeve I didn't know about?