Confused

"Selena, wait up." I caught up to her just as she reached her dorm building, slightly out of breath from chasing her down three flights of stairs.

She turned around, arms crossed. "What?"

Right. This whole situation was ridiculous, but I'd already committed to it. Might as well see it through.

"Here." I held out the small jewelry box, feeling like an idiot.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked between me and the box. "What is that supposed to be?"

"Just open it first, then we can talk."

She took the box with obvious reluctance, popped it open, and froze. "Is this...?"

"Yeah. The earring. The one that supposedly caused all your drama." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Took me forever to find a matching one."

She pulled out the purple diamond earring—identical to the one I wore. Finding it had been a nightmare. Three different jewelry shops, hours of searching, and 450 points down the drain. So many points, gone.

The moment she saw it; Selena broke into the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her face.

Something was wrong with that grin.

"You actually did it, you dense bastard!" She threw her arms around me in a hug that nearly cracked a rib.

I stood there like a statue. Physical affection still caught me off guard, no matter how many times it happened.

"I was starting to think you'd never figure it out, but you came through anyway." She was laughing now, and I was getting a very bad feeling about this.

"Wait." I pulled back to look at her. "You're telling me you knew this earring meant nothing?"

"Of course I knew, idiot. You think I'd let some random girl stake a claim on you?" She grinned up at me, looking far too pleased with herself.

My brain short-circuited. "But... you were crying. You wouldn't talk to me for three days!"

"Just had to guilt-trip you into making a move, and it worked perfectly!" She grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the elevator.

I was too stunned to resist. "You were acting? The whole time?"

"Yep. Figured if I made you feel bad enough, you'd eventually do something about it." Her smugness was radiating off her in waves.

My 450 points. Gone. For nothing.

This is entirely your fault, I thought at Nelia, channeling all my frustration toward the fairy in my earring.

How is this my fault? You asked for my opinion!

Just shut it.

"Now that we've made it official," Selena said, snapping me back to reality, "fair warning—if I catch you laughing with other girls the way you were with Ariana, we're going to have problems."

Her smile had taken on a distinctly predatory quality.

Great. I'd just handed my life over to a psychopath. "Where exactly are you dragging me?"

"Alies Seres. You promised, remember?"

I checked my watch. "It's already 4 PM. If we go now, I'll miss curfew."

"Do I look like I care?"

"You should. Missing curfew costs grade points."

"Still don't care." She shrugged. "As your official girlfriend, I'm demanding we go to that café. Your opinion is irrelevant because I'll drag you there either way."

I sighed. How had I let my emotions get the better of me? I'd basically signed my freedom away.

Oh well. Only four months left in the semester. And it wasn't like I was planning to get involved with other girls anyway.

This might actually work out.

I hoped.