Chapter 6: So After A Million You'll Think About It

Amelia's POV

The bell rings and Sylvester and I shut our laptops. "Are you free after school to work on the presentation?" He asks.

"I guess... We can practice presenting in the courtyard if you want?" I ask, packing up my things.

"Don't sound so glum Amelia. You get to spend even more time with the Sylvester Black." He says.

"Yay..." I say unenthusiastic.

"You wound me." He says, shaking his head.

I laugh and we separate for our next class. At the end of the day, I say goodbye to Lily and head to the courtyard.

I pick a table, under a tree so we have shade. A few minutes later, I hear someone plop across from me. I jump with surprise, and take out my headphones.

"You scared me." I say, putting my phone away.

He hands me a bag of chips and I smile. "In case we get hungry." He says.

"Aww thank you!" I say, opening the bag. How did he know I was hungry?

"Did you memorize your part?" He asks, opening his laptop.

"Yep, you?" I ask.

"Of course." He says smirking. I roll my eyes and continue munching on my chips.

He sets up the presentation, and we both stand up. A small group of girls start walking towards Sylvester, and I see his shoulder slouch. Can he sense them?

He turns around and flashes them a smile. "C-can we get an autograph?" One of them stutters.

"Of course!" He says, writing on their pieces of paper.

One of them looks at me, and her face scrunches up. Why does she look like she ate a lemon? "Is she your girlfriend?" She asks.

I scoff and say, "No."

Sylvester glances at me and says, "She wishes."

I glare at him and respond with, "Never in a million years."

"So after a million, you'll think about it?" He asks, faking a hopeful face.

"Hmmm... Still a no." I say grinning.

"Thank you, sorry for interrupting." Another girl says, while they walk away.

"You think I could get your autograph so I can sell it?" I ask nicely.

He automatically frowns and says, "No."

"Please? We're friends right?" I ask jokingly.

"Yes, but it's still a no." He says.

I dramatically gasp, and Sylvester sighs. "Sylvester Black is my friend. I'm going to die of joy." I say, thinking if I should squeal like a fan girl.

"Don't." Sylvester says, immediately covering my mouth.

I lick his hand and he pulls away. "How'd you know I was going to squeal?" I ask.

"I didn't. But you had an evil look on your face." He says.

"Me? Evil? Could never be me..." I say. Before he can respond, I start presenting the first slide.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

"You want to grab a bite to eat? I'll drop you off after." Sylvester says.

"You're not busy?" I ask surprised.

"I'll always make time for my fans." He says teasingly.

"Shoot. Turns out there's a family emergency I need to go to." I say, obviously lying. Your parents are also dead...

"Haha. But seriously, Cassy and your mom are fine?" He asks.

I go quiet for a moment, realizing he doesn't know. And how would he? It's not like the whole school knows/talks about it...

"They're not my real family. They're just step." I say firmly. "Want to get Chick-fil-A?" I ask, changing the subject.

He doesn't push the topic, and shrugs. "Sure. I haven't had their fries in forever."

"This makes or breaks our friendship. Do you like McDonald's fries or Chick-fil-A's fries more?" I ask, while I follow him to his car.

"Damn... That's a difficult answer." He says, unlocking his car.

He opens the door for me, and I slip in. "Chick-fil-A." He answers.

"Congrats! You passed." I say, tapping his shoulder.

When we exit the school's parking lot, he asks, "This is also a very important question too. Do you prefer The Office or Friends?"

I automatically say, "The Office, Friends is overrated."

"I agree. Jase is the complete opposite." He says sighing.

"Drop him. That's a toxic friendship." I say laughing.

"You're right, I should." He says going along with the joke.

We pull up to the drive-through and Sylvester let's me order first. When he's done, we pull up to the first window. I grab a few bills and try to hand it to the employee, but Sylvester slaps my hand.

"Ow!" I say, as he hands the employee his credit card.

He receives the receipt and I feel bad. "Here's money to pay you back." I say, setting it on the console.

"I don't accept. Your order was like $6, it's fine." He says, grabbing the food.

"Fine. But next time I'm paying." I say, grabbing my money. He softly smiles, and I assume it's because he's holding the bag of food.

We park in an empty spot, and start to eat. We get to know each other more, and he tells me he actually prefers dancing over singing.

"Really? I used to dance when I was younger! I won first place in my division a few times." I brag.

"Do you plan on doing dance for college?" He asks.

"I'm hoping I get into dance academy like my parents. But my back up schools aren't the worst either." I say, sipping my drink.

"I want to go there too! I convinced my parents to let me go there for dance, even though they said I don't need to go to college. But I really want to get a degree in statistics." He says.

"Wow, that's great! I would have never guessed you were a math nerd." I say, lightly punching his arm.

He laughs and we continue to talk for another hour. When he drives to the front of Esmeralda's house, I'm thankful Esmeralda and Cassy aren't home.

"Thanks for the Chick-fil-A and dropping me off." I say.

"No problem." He says.

Ask him about the bracelet! "Um, I know this is random, but have you found the owner of that bracelet you posted about?" I ask. Tell him! You want me to just straight up ask for it back? Kind of the point here...

"Have you been stalking me Amelia?" He asks with a smirk.

I punch his arm and say, "No! Lily told me you were just looking for the owner."

He clutches his arm, faking pain and says, "I am. But so far no one has guessed the word right. I'm thinking she probably doesn't want it back..."

"No!" I say loudly. Dumbass. "I mean, what if she just doesn't want to disappoint you?"

you for being a good partner."

I genuinely just wanted to be friends. She seemed real, and not fake like a lot of people here. Hard to come by." He says.

I nod and step out of the car. "I'm sure she'll find the courage to confront you, one day." I say, waving.

He agrees and says, "See you at school, Amelia."

When he drives away, I sigh and talk to myself. You're fucking dumb. I know... I don't know what's stopping me from telling him! Well, it's more like I don't want to tell him.

Thanks for reading!