The Geek and The Goddess Page 17

  "Word got out that I created Monkey Mummy."

  "I love that fucking game," Will says as he stands by our table. He's on the football team and every other sports team. I don't know how he even has time to play video games. "I can't believe it's yours."

  "How long did it take to make?" someone behind Will asks.

  "Do you own all the rights?" another person asks.

  "You should do merchandising," I hear a voice say. "You'd make a fortune."

  "He already has," a girl says.

  "How much did you make?" a different girl asks.

  They're firing questions at Wes like it's a press conference. He pretends not to hear them and gets off his stool and stands beside me.

  "Good morning," he says with that crooked smile I love so much.

  "Morning." I smile back.

  He kisses me as though we're the only two people around. My body stiffens. I love his kisses but I'm not used to having an audience when he does it.

  The crowd around us suddenly gets quiet and when I back away from Wes I see everyone staring at us. Casey's shiny pink lips are turned down into a frown, and Maya, the girl beside her, is staring at us with her jaw dropped.

  The guys are also staring at us. Most of them look confused. Some look shocked. Is it that odd for Wes and I to be going out? We're both smart. We're both kind of nerdy. Is it because he has money that people think he could do better than me?

  I'm sure that's what it is. Just moments ago, Casey was hanging all over him. She's one of the prettiest, most popular girls in school. Wes could have her, or any one of her beautiful popular friends, but instead he's with me. And he just made that very clear by kissing me in public, in front of all our classmates.

  "Everyone to their seats," Mr. Henderson says as he walks in the room. The bell went off a few minutes ago but he wasn't around to start class. "I said everyone to their seats," he repeats, louder this time.

  The people who were gathered around us go back to their tables. Wes sits on his stool but he reaches over for my hand and holds it. This is weird. I like it, but it's weird. I'm not used to having a boyfriend, and I'm definitely not used to public displays of affection, especially at school.

  At the end of class, he kisses me again, then we hold hands as we walk to our next class.

  "Maybe we shouldn't do this," I say.

  "Do what?"

  I hold up our hands. "This."

  "You don't want to hold hands?"

  "I do, but maybe not at school."

  We go in the classroom and find our seats.

  "Why not at school? Other people do."

  "It just seems like everyone's staring at us. It's making me uncomfortable."

  "So ignore them. It's none of their business what we do." He turns to me. "Or are you uncomfortable because you're embarrassed you're dating me?"

  "No! Of course not. I guess I'm just not comfortable with public displays of affection."

  "Are you sure it's that? Or is it because you're worried about what other people are thinking of us?"

  I don't answer because I'm not sure. I haven't thought it through that much.

  He picks up my hand and holds it. "Do you like this?"

  "Yeah."

  "Even though we're at school?"

  "Yes."

  "Then I think you have your answer."

  The bell goes off and he lets go of my hand and opens his laptop.

  He's right. It's not the kissing and hand-holding that's bothering me. It's the attention we're getting for doing those things at school. I'm so used to being ignored, fading into the background, that being the center of attention doesn't feel right. I feel like I want to run away from it, but I can't now. It's too late.

  By the end of the day, everyone knows about Wes and his bestselling game. They know he has money because he drove his Audi to school. And they know he's dating me. That we're a couple.

  My world has changed overnight. Last Friday I was Luna the Tuna, the bookworm wallflower who was just trying to get through the day without being noticed. And now? Days later? I'm like a celebrity, dating the cool California guy who happens to be a millionaire.

  Wes' world has also changed. Last week he was the oddball geek who wore nerdy clothes and carried a briefcase. Today he's got on light-colored pants, a navy polo shirt, leather shoes, a nice watch, and he's carrying a leather messenger bag. He's still the same Wes, only hotter, and all the girls have noticed. And now that they know he's rich, they're following him around, trying to get his attention, even though they know he's with me.

  I'm not sure what I think of this new world. Some things are better and some things are worse. It'll take some time to adjust, but hopefully over time all the attention on us will settle down.

  After school Wes gives me a ride home, which causes all the girls to give me jealous looks. Most of the guys at our school have cheap cars that are several years old and Wes is driving around in a brand new luxury car.

  "You okay?" Wes asks as we're driving to my house.

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "I could tell you were uncomfortable today. All the attention? People staring at us? Girls coming up to me?"

  "I assumed all that would happen."

  "You did?"

  "Well, not to the extent that it did, but I knew you'd get a lot of attention when people found out you created that game."

  "But what about us? How did you think people would react?"

  "I wasn't sure. I assumed I'd get dirty looks from some of the girls, which I did, but I also thought they'd say stuff to me, which they didn't."

  "What'd you think they would say?"

  "That I'm not good enough for you. That you'll dump me for someone better."

  He reaches over and holds my hand. "There's nobody better. You're the only girl I'm interested in."

  I nod and look out the side window.

  "You don't believe me?" he asks, giving my hand a squeeze.

  "I do," I say, looking back at him. "But I know eventually people will say that stuff to me."

  "Then don't listen to them, because it's not true. There's no one better. I'm not going to go find someone else. I didn't do that in our past lives and I won't do it now either." He smiles.

  I smile back but I don't believe what he's saying. I don't believe he'll stay with me, especially if he finds out about my eyes.

  Maybe I should tell him. If this is going to end, maybe it should happen sooner rather than later. It'll hurt, but not as much as if I'd let it go on for weeks or months before ending it.

  I need to think about it some more, but right now I'm thinking I'll do it. I think I'll tell him about my eyes.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The week goes by and the attention on Wes and me intensifies. People are watching our every move, talking about us in the halls, whispering about us in class. I don't understand it. I don't know why people are so interested in us.

  By Friday afternoon, I'm exhausted from all the attention and just want a quiet night at home. Wes was invited to three different parties and I told him he could go without me but he didn't want to. So instead we hang out at his house Friday night and most of Saturday, watching movies and sitting by the pool. Then on Sunday we work on our chem assignment.

  When Monday arrives, I assume people at school won't be paying attention to us anymore but I'm wrong. They're still staring at us and talking about us like we're some kind of celebrity couple. It continues for the entire week, and by Friday, I'm really getting tired of it.

  "You think this will ever stop?" I ask Wes during lunch.

  We sat at a table off to the side and were immediately joined by a couple football players and their girlfriends. All popular people. People who wouldn't give me the time of day just a few weeks ago but now want to sit at my table. But they don't say anything to me. They still ignore me. They're only sitting here because Wes is here and they want to be friends with someone who has money and the potential to make even more.

  "It'll stop whe
n people realize I don't believe in buying friends," he whispers to me.

  "You guys gonna be at the party Saturday?" Riley, one of the football players, asks.

  Wes looks at me. "We already have plans."

  It's true. We're going to the ice rink with Sam and Stella, then going out for dinner. We'd planned to do that last weekend but Sam got sick so we moved it to this weekend.

  "What are your plans?" Carly asks, turning toward Wes, smiling at him as she twirls her hair around her finger.

  "Double date with Sam and Stella," he says.

  "Why don't all four of you come to the party?" Riley asks, his mouth full of the burger he just bit into.

  "We already made plans to do something else." Wes smiles. "But thanks for the invite."

  Wes always responds this way. Always mature. Always smiling. Always positive. He doesn't like Riley and would never go to his party, but he just smiles and politely says no.

  Riley made fun of Wes when he first met him. He was one of the guys who'd yell "Nerd alert!" when Wes would walk by him in the halls. And now Riley is acting like Wes is his new best friend. But instead of calling him out on that, Wes just moves on, not wanting to waste time being angry about something that's in the past. That's what he told me, and when he said it, I knew he was giving me a hint to do the same. To forget all the bad stuff people have done to me and move on. I'm trying to. I really am, but it's hard to do that when I know these people haven't changed. I'm only being treated better because I'm with Wes. When that ends, I'll go back to being Luna the Lunatic.

  "Luna." Wes nudges me.

  "What?"

  He nudges me again.

  I turn to him. "What?"

  "Sarah."

  I turn to my other side and see Sarah, a girl from my English class, standing next to me. With my lack of side vision, I didn't even notice her there. And I didn't hear her because she's super quiet. She's really shy and likes to keep to herself.

  "Hi, Sarah."

  "Hi," she says in a timid voice. She hands me a notebook. "You left this in class."

  "Thanks." I take the notebook from her.

  As Sarah hurries off, I look up and see everyone at the table staring at me. They're all quiet until Carly says, "Didn't you see her? She was standing right there." She points to the area beside me.

  I shrug. "Guess I didn't notice."

  Carly raises her brows in a way that says she thinks I'm crazy, then turns to her friend. "Let's go. I want to show you this new lip stain I got. It's in my locker."

  "Okay." Her friend gets up and goes over to Mick, her boyfriend, and kisses him.

  "Later, babe," he says, smacking her ass.

  She giggles and turns to show off her butt as she walks off with Carly.

  "Carly!" Riley calls after her. She looks back and he says, "No goodbye?"

  "Not until you buy me those tickets." She huffs, then continues toward the exit.

  "You haven't bought the tickets?" Mick asks Riley.

  "Don't have the money yet," he says. "I'll get it on Saturday."

  I glance at Wes. It's a well known fact around school that Riley sells drugs. Not street drugs, but prescription drugs. I don't know where he gets them but he uses his parties to sell them and acquire new customers, at least that's what I've heard. He's never tried to sell to me, probably thinking I'm too much of a good girl to buy them, which I am. I have enough problems. I don't need to add drugs to the mix.

  Riley stands up. "I gotta stop at my locker before class," he says to Mick. "Let's go."

  Mick gets up, even though he's not done with lunch. "See you guys later," he says to us.

  Riley looks at Wes. "The party'll go on all night. If you change your mind, just stop by."

  "Sounds good. See ya."

  We wait for them to leave, then Wes turns to me. "Can I ask you something?"

  "What?"

  "Just now, when Sarah stopped by, you really didn't see her?"

  Crap. He's starting to notice. I knew he would. He notices everything about me, everything I do. I know it's only because he likes me so much but sometimes all his attention gets annoying. Like now. I wish he hadn't noticed what happened with Sarah, but to be fair, the whole table did. Sarah must've been standing there a while. Why didn't she say something to get my attention?

  "I just zoned out," I say. "I was thinking about the math test I have later."

  "But she was right there, like inches away from you, and you didn't even notice."

  I glare at him, my anger rising. "What are you trying to say?"

  "Nothing. It's just that sometimes I notice you—"

  "I what?" I spit out.

  "I just..." He looks at me. He can see the anger on my face. He can hear it in my voice. He shakes his head. "Never mind."

  I bolt up from my seat. "I need to go. I'll see ya later."

  As I'm racing off, I hear him calling after me. "Luna, wait! You didn't even finish lunch!"

  Lunch is the last thing I care about right now. I've lost my appetite, my stomach now twisting into knots as I realize I can't keep this from Wes any longer. He's too observant. We're together all the time. During school, after school, on weekends. The more time we spend together, the more suspicious he'll become. Eventually he'll figure out there's something wrong with my eyes without me even telling him.

  My eyes are betraying me more than ever these days. The harsh classroom lights didn't bother me much last year but this year I can't seem to tolerate them at all. They're so bright it's making it hard to see and they're causing headaches that don't go away.

  The other day, I still had a headache at six that night and my mom noticed during dinner. She asked me about it and I said I was fine but she wouldn't let it go. We ended up getting in a fight about it. I know she's just concerned but it makes me angry when she keeps asking about my eyes. It's like she's looking for problems, waiting for my vision to get worse. Like she wants it to get worse, wants me to go blind, so we can get it over with and move on to the next phase, which is for me to learn to live as a blind person.

  I feel guilty for thinking that. I know my mom doesn't want me to go blind. She wants to put it off for as long as possible, or find a way to prevent it altogether. I know this, and yet I still feel like there's this part of her that just wants the waiting to end, even if it means I lose my vision.

  But that's not her. It's me. I'm projecting my feelings onto her. I'm the one who wants it to end. The uncertainty. The waiting. Always wondering if I'll wake up in the morning and not be able to see. It's torture not knowing when or if it'll ever happen. Part of me just wants it to happen now so I can go on with my life and not spend the next ten or twenty years waiting for it, because the wait is excruciating.

  It's excruciating for my parents too. They're hoping and praying that day will never come. That a cure will be developed that'll save my vision, and that my vision won't get worse before that happens. That's the real reason my mom is always asking about my eyes. It's because she's hoping they're not getting worse. She wants to find a way to fix this but she can't and she feels like she's running out of time.

  Before my last class of the day, Wes finds me at my locker.

  "Are you avoiding me?" he asks, leaning against the locker next to mine. I take a moment to look at him. He's really hot. Those swirly blue eyes. Wavy brown hair. And that goofy smile. He's not the typical definition of hot. He doesn't have big muscles or a perfectly symmetrical face or one of those strong jawlines that male models have, but to me, he's the absolute definition of hot.

  "Luna?" His goofy grin widens. "If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to kiss you, right here in the hallway with everyone watching."

  Despite my dislike of public displays of affection, I would actually be okay with him kissing me right now. He's standing close. He smells good. And I'm really turned on at the moment, my mind completely forgetting what happened at lunch.

  "Don't say I didn't warn you." He lets out a laugh, then leans in and k
isses me. Knowing people are watching, I'm about to pull back, but then his arm goes around my waist and he pulls me flush against his body as his kiss goes deeper. What we're doing is totally inappropriate for school and yet I'm loving every second of it.

  I hear a man clear his throat. "Mr. Deckle. Ms. Carlson."

  It's Mr. Henderson. I recognize his deep voice.

  Wes doesn't rush to end the kiss. He finishes it, then slowly backs away.

  "I need you two to save that for after school," Mr. Henderson says.

  Wes turns to him. "Sorry, Mr. Henderson. Luna's just so beautiful I find it hard to control myself around her."

  My face is heating up. I just got in trouble for kissing a boy at school. Never in a million years would I have guessed that would ever happen. I didn't think I'd even have a boyfriend.

  "It's understandable," Mr. Henderson says with a smile. "I know it's hard to resist a pretty girl, but save it for after class, okay?"

  Wes nods. "Will do."

  "Oh, and..." Mr. Henderson laughs a little. "Feel free to say no, but if you don't mind, my son would love your autograph. He begged me to ask you for it. He's ten, and obsessed with that game of yours. Plays it so much I have to put time limits on it or he'd never get his homework done."

  Wes smiles. "I'm happy to give him an autograph. How about a t-shirt too? I have some at home. I can sign one and bring it in on Monday."

  "That would be wonderful," Mr. Henderson says, his brows raised like he's surprised by Wes' offer. "I'll pay you for the shirt, of course."

  "Don't worry about it. I've got tons, and it's free marketing if your son ends up wearing it around town."

  "Knowing him, he'll probably never take it off."

  Wes laughs. "Then I'll give you a couple so he'll have an extra when the other one's in the wash."

  "I have to get to class," I say to them as I close my locker.

  "Thanks, Wes," Mr. Henderson says. "My son will be thrilled when I tell him."

  "No problem."

  He walks off and Wes takes my hand as I turn to leave. "See you after class?"

  "Yeah. See ya," I say.

  He lets go of my hand and walks backward, mouthing the words 'miss you' followed by a big grin before he finally turns around and continues on to class. I head in the opposite direction, laughing at his 'miss you' gesture. He did it as a joke because earlier today I was saying how annoying it is when couples do that between classes. Class is less than an hour. Are they really going to miss each other in that short amount of time? Okay, maybe I miss Wes when I'm in class but I wouldn't advertise that to the world. I'm embarrassed to admit it to myself. I shouldn't miss Wes when we've been apart for less than an hour.