So I nodded and smiled proudly. "The rumors are true."
They all gasped in unison.
"What?" I frowned.
Their giggles stopped. Squirming, glaring, whispering—they weren't sure whether to hate me or worship me.
"Did you ask him, or did he ask you?" one of them snapped, her tone sharper now.
I tilted my head, confused. "Neither. We were told to."
Her eyes widened. She whipped around and whispered something furiously into Abigail's ear. Abigail's jaw dropped, then slowly turned back to me, her face painted with disbelief.
"What?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Nothing! We wouldn't dare misunderstand you," the seatmate stammered with a nervous laugh. She straightened in her seat, avoiding my gaze.
But the silence that followed was too loud.
I wasn't that dumb. They were clearly misunderstanding me.
And whatever they thought… was about to spread faster than fire in a dry forest.
Abigail gave me that look; the one that meant she'd already filed away my words as truth. By tomorrow, it would reach the cafeteria, the hallways, and worst of all… Hayden.
I sighed, staring out the window where Pookie swung his hoe with all the vigor of a man auditioning for a gladiator movie. For once, not even he could distract me.
If I had one ounce of self-preservation, I would've stood up, declared I had no idea what they were implying, and ended the misunderstanding right there.
But I didn't...
Instead, I tapped my pencil against the desk and muttered, "Well… at least you guys believe me now."
Three jaws dropped.
"You admit it?" Abigail squealed, half-horrified, half-thrilled.
"Admit what?" I asked innocently.
Her face scrunched. "That something's going on between you and Hayden!"
The pencil froze in my hand.
"…What?"
The girl behind me leaned in, whispering like she was breaking a national secret. "We all know Hayden never wastes his time on anyone. Not unless… well, you know."
I blinked at her. "No, I don't know."
Giggles erupted again. The kind that said we know more than you, poor clueless soul.
Heat crept up my neck. I wanted to shout that Hayden barely tolerated me. That he probably wished for my extinction at least three times a day. That the last thing between us was romance.
But instead, I bit my bottom lip.
Because if I denied it too loudly, it would only fuel the fire. If I played dumb… maybe I could survive this.
The bell rang, and relief washed over me; until I noticed half the class shooting me sly glances as they filed out. Abigail squeezed my hand before leaving.
"You're so lucky," she whispered, eyes shining like I'd just won the lottery. "Hayden Hills of all people… I'd die if he even looked at me."
I forced a laugh, sinking into my chair the moment she disappeared.
Lucky.
Right.
If they knew the truth—that Hayden had sabotaged me, then pitied me enough to save me at the last second—they wouldn't call it luck. They'd call it tragedy.
I buried my face in my arms, heart thumping with the rhythm of denial.
Because if this rumor reached Hayden's ears…
He'd kill me.