The Sickly Guy's Secret Love Chapter 2

The next afternoon, right after our last class, Marcus expertly navigated us to the Northridge College campus.

By the time we arrived, the dance studio was already packed.

His eyes lit up the moment he spotted someone. He waved frantically over the crowd. "Valerie!"

I was still scanning the sea of bodies when he practically dragged me forward.

The girl was wearing a sleek white performance outfit, her expression completely detached.

I hadn't actually seen Valerie in person before, only through the obsessive lens of Marcus's camera roll. Because of my fragile immune system, I rarely ventured into crowded spaces.

"Eden, if you start feeling faint, tell me immediately. The air is pretty stagnant in here," he whispered, suddenly shifting into protective-brother mode.

"I'm fine," I signed with an okay gesture.

We were just about to back away to the bleachers when we heard Valerie turn to the other dancers. "Where's Morgan?"

"No idea, haven't seen her all day."

A second later, a girl near the entrance gasped, pointing a shaking finger toward the door. "Holy crap, that absolute vision cannot be Morgan!"

Every head in the room instinctively swiveled.

A tall girl stepped into the frame. She had fresh, silver-blonde highlights woven through her dark hair, a sleek silver stud catching the light on her left ear. She radiated an effortlessly beautiful, razor-sharp energy.

"What… what did she do? Did she skip practice just to get her hair done?"

"Who provoked her this time?"

From the moment Morgan walked in, her eyes darted furiously across the room until they finally locked onto my pale pink sweater in the crowd.

No, I have to play the part, she must have reminded herself.

Her determined stride toward me abruptly veered off-course halfway across the floor.

Marcus was just about to pull me toward the seats when a guy jogged up and clapped Valerie on the shoulder.

"Hey, Valerie, where's the seat you saved for me?"

The guy had a clean, preppy haircut and a small entourage of equally loud guys trailing behind him.

"Who is that?" I asked quietly.

The bright smile on Marcus’s face instantly died. "Her childhood friend. They grew up together."

I might not socialize much, but I consumed romance novels like they were keeping me alive. The scent of a toxic, boundary-crossing orbiter hit me instantly.

A single phrase flashed in my mind: The 'Just a Friend' Guy.

"Um…"

Morgan had inevitably gravitated toward me, desperate to speak, but before she could formulate a sentence, Marcus grabbed my wrist and pulled me away.

His mood had plummeted. "Out of sight, out of mind," he muttered darkly.

I glanced back over my shoulder, catching Morgan’s devastatingly pitiful gaze. She looked exactly like my mother’s golden retriever right after being told she couldn't have table scraps.

"Over there. Go sit yourself down," Valerie pointed out a row of seats to Spencer, the preppy guy.

Morgan, looking absolutely murderous, intentionally shoved her shoulder hard against Valerie’s as she walked past.

Valerie stumbled slightly, blinking in shock. "Did you eat gunpowder for breakfast?"

Morgan silently stripped off her oversized jacket. A couple of guys tried to approach her, but one sweep of her frigid glare froze them in their tracks.

…

In the bleachers, I tentatively probed Marcus. "How does she treat that guy?"

Marcus shot me a defeated look, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't know how to explain it. It’s just… wherever Valerie is, he is."

Speak of the devil. Spencer and his entourage swaggered over to our section.

Valerie was truly a piece of work. She had reserved an entire row.

The words I wanted to say died in my throat. Sigh. The spectator sees the game best.

Right before the performance started, my phone buzzed with rapid-fire texts from Morgan.

Why didn’t you talk to me? I thought you were supposed to be chasing me?

Are you giving up? Can I chase you now instead?

I'm going on stage in a second. You have to keep your eyes on me.

I looked up from the screen just as Morgan glanced up at the stands, her eyes locking onto mine.

The guys next to me immediately started whispering. "Morgan keeps looking up here. Spencer, is she looking at you?"

"Man, I’m so jealous you grew up with two absolute goddesses."

Spencer’s cheeks flushed slightly, a sickeningly smug gleam in his eyes. "Oh, come on, it’s not like that."

Marcus let out a loud, derisive scoff next to me.

I calmly broke eye contact, and the corners of Morgan’s mouth instantly turned down into a pout.

Once the music started, I completely lost myself in the performance. I genuinely loved watching dance.

The room was filled with gasps of admiration, applause, and whispered debates about who had the best technique.

Suddenly, Morgan executed a flawless, brutally difficult sequence of rapid pirouettes, sending the entire gymnasium into a frenzy.

The girl’s face was flushed with exertion, the sleek lines of her exposed arms flexing with a mesmerizing grace.

She instinctively looked up at our section again, drawing more hushed gasps from the crowd around me.

"Is her girlfriend sitting up here or something? She keeps staring right at us."

To my right, someone sighed enviously. "Spencer, if both Valerie and Morgan wanted you, who would you even pick?"

"They’re both so stunning. That’s an impossible choice!"

"Oh, stop it, you guys, just watch the show," Spencer deflected, basking in the attention.

Marcus leaned over and mouthed the word, Poser.

When the showcase ended, Marcus turned to me, panic in his eyes. "Eden, don't move a muscle. Stay exactly right here. I’ll be right back."

With that, he bolted toward the backstage area with a bottle of water clutched in his hand. Spencer was already long gone, naturally.

I sat obediently in the empty bleachers. Against the flow of the departing crowd, a girl pushing her way up the steps caught my eye. She had changed into street clothes, her hairline still damp with sweat.

I didn't blink as Morgan closed the distance and dropped into the empty seat beside me.

Seeing me, a slow, breathtaking smile spread across her face. "I thought you were courting me? Where's my water?"

"I'm sorry. This is my first time chasing someone. I lack experience."

My voice was soft, airy, but my eyes held absolutely zero remorse.

Morgan was still breathing heavily from the routine. Hearing my response, she let out a breathless, exasperated laugh.

She tilted her head back, taking a long pull from her own water bottle.

She was already devastatingly cool, but right now, with the corners of her eyes tinted red and a post-adrenaline flush on her cheeks, she looked dangerously intoxicating.

She wiped her mouth, dropping her head in defeat as she leaned in close. "Stop torturing me, baby."

"Can we just make it public right now?"

The heat radiating off her skin carried the sharp, clean scent of sweat and adrenaline. I instinctively leaned back.

"Sit up straight."

I tapped her shoulder with one finger.

Tilting my head, I asked softly, "You like me?"

She immediately snapped to attention, nodding with frantic sincerity.

"But…"

I let the word hang, pointing down toward the gym floor where Spencer was marching toward the backstage area. "What is your relationship with him? I heard you two were childhood sweethearts."

Morgan’s dark, obsidian eyes locked onto mine as she scrambled to explain. "Valerie, him, and I did grow up together, yes. But we are strictly platonic. Literally just friends."

"Really…"

I shifted my gaze past her shoulder. Spencer, looking livid, was stomping up the bleachers toward us. He glared at me before hissing through gritted teeth, "Morgan!"

"Where the hell did you go? I searched the entire backstage for you! Wow, choosing a pretty face over your best friends, huh? Unbelievable!"

I stared at the two of them in utter silence. Morgan’s jaw clenched. She turned her head slightly away. "I already told you, Spencer. I don't drink water given to me by anyone. Except my partner."

"I… how can you compare me to anyone else? We grew up together! What’s the big deal about me bringing you water? Are you saying the second you get a partner, we can't even be friends anymore?"

Instantly, Spencer’s eyes went red. He bit his lip, playing the absolute picture of a wounded victim.

I looked calmly at Morgan. "I never said you couldn't be friends once you have a partner. I just said there needs to be boundaries."

Spencer’s teary eyes snapped to me. His voice wavered with a perfectly engineered tremor. "I didn't see you there earlier. I didn't realize you were her partner. I'm so sorry if I made you misunderstand."

Wow. Coming right out of the gate, slapping the 'jealous, unreasonable girlfriend' label on me.

I spent my life locked in my room reading hundreds of novels where the female lead mathematically dismantled toxic orbiters. I just never had the chance to test it in the field.

Until now. The theory was about to meet practice.

I mentally rolled up my sleeves.

But Morgan beat me to it. She scowled, her voice dropping to a dangerous register. "What the hell are you talking about? She hasn't agreed to be my girlfriend yet, but honestly, the way you're talking right now is pissing me off."

Spencer’s face froze. He literally forgot to keep fake-crying.

Right on cue, Marcus called me. "Eden, let's go."

I grabbed Marcus’s bag from the seat and stood up.

Morgan looked up at me, panic and desperation swirling in her eyes.

I smiled, pulling a fresh bottle of water out of Marcus’s bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Spencer watching.

I handed it to Morgan. "Here."

Morgan’s amber eyes practically lit up like floodlights. Her knuckles grazed mine as she snatched the bottle.

"We’re going out to celebrate later. Do you and Marcus want to come?"

I stepped around the benches, stopping right in front of Spencer, with Morgan trailing obediently behind me like a shadow.

I smiled at him. "Excuse me, classmate. You're blocking the way."

Spencer ground his teeth together and stepped aside.

I walked a few paces down the stairs, then glanced back over my shoulder.

I gave Morgan a brilliant, lingering smile. "See you next time, Morgan."

When I reached the bottom of the bleachers, I grabbed a shell-shocked Marcus by the sleeve and dragged him toward the exit.

He whipped his head around, staring in disbelief at Morgan, who was glued to her spot, watching me leave like a sailor watching a lighthouse. He looked back at me. "Holy... what did you do? How did you train a wolf into a golden retriever in five minutes?"

"Secret."