Chapter 37

Josie wore the light purple dress she’d bought the day before. She also had on a bit of makeup. She hadn’t wanted to put any on, but Zoey said her face looked too pale and that makeup would go better with the dress. Not wanting to let her friends down, she let Zoey do some light makeup for both her and Adeline.

From a distance, Josie looked stunning—like someone straight out of a movie.

"You must be seeing things," Natalie said with a quick glance. "Josie wears black-rimmed glasses and never touches bright colors or makeup. That can’t be her."

The guy who spoke looked at Aiden, and when he saw no reaction, he started walking toward Josie. "Well, even if I’m wrong, I still wanna meet her. How have I never seen her around before?"

Aiden frowned as the guy put down the brochure and made his way toward the girl in the purple dress. "How’d someone like him end up in student government? We’re voting him out next time."

Natalie smiled. "Not everyone’s like you, always going on about character. He’s just a regular guy. It’s not weird he’d be into someone pretty."

Aiden liked hearing that. He agreed—he wasn’t some average guy who fell for any girl just because she was pretty. Even when Zoey confessed to him, he didn’t care. So there was no way he’d be interested in someone like the girl in the purple dress.

Just then, the guy came back, grinning. "Aiden, looks like even you can be wrong. That girl’s not just some random one. She’s Josie—yeah, the one you know pretty well."

Natalie’s face darkened. "Don’t say stuff like that. What do you mean by saying he knows her well? You’ll make it sound like something it’s not. You’re embarrassing Aiden."

Aiden gave the guy a cold look. "People like you are why rumors start. It’s annoying."

"My bad if I said the wrong thing, but how’s that an embarrassment?" the guy replied. "Josie used to be on your team. It’s not crazy to make the connection."

By then, Josie and Adeline had walked over. Aiden caught sight of Josie and froze for a second. She looked completely different. He was surprised—but more than that, he felt annoyed. He was sure she wouldn’t be able to ignore him. He figured she’d hold out for maybe three days, but here she was, already back after just one. And she even dressed up.

In Aiden’s opinion, yeah, she looked better than before. But she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous or anything. It wasn’t like he’d fall for her at first glance. Aiden found it laughable. He wasn’t like the other guys at school. He’d been around. He’d seen women way more attractive than Josie. To him, girls like her weren’t worth his time.

He rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here? I’m busy. I don’t have time for your drama. If you want me to forgive you, go apologize to Vincent and give him what he needs."

“Since we’ve known each other for three years, I’ll let your attitude slide. If you need help later, I’ll still be there. You can even come to me for tutoring." He thought he was being generous. He expected Josie to tear up, say sorry, and agree to everything without question.

But what happened next was the last thing he expected.

"Is he seriously out of his mind?" Adeline was stunned. If she hadn’t read Josie’s diary, just hearing Aiden talk like that would’ve made her think Josie was head over heels for him. She really wished she had brought Zoey along to see just how full of himself Aiden was.

Josie found it kind of hilarious. Aiden always acted like he was above her, like he was too good for someone like her. Sadly, before time turned back, she actually believed he was perfect—someone way out of her league. Whatever he said felt like an order. She never dared to say no. If it weren’t for Natalie dragging him down, Josie probably never would’ve seen through his act.

Back when she was locked up, Josie kept thinking about how blind she’d been—how she couldn’t see his true colors. Right before she died, she finally figured it out—Aiden had used her low self-esteem to mess with her head. Out of all five of them, Aiden was probably the scariest. He didn’t need fists—he played mind games.

A flash of hatred crossed Josie’s eyes. She nodded in agreement with Adeline. "Yeah, looks like he’s really messed up."

"How can you talk about Aiden like that, Josie?" Natalie rushed over and stepped in front of him. "He’s just worried about you. If you’re not thankful, fine, but why insult him?" She looked exactly like Josie used to. No. That wasn’t right. At least Natalie hadn’t been that dumb.

"Another nutcase," Adeline said coldly.

Josie stayed calm and nodded. "Didn’t expect someone to come over just to get insulted."

"What’s that supposed to mean, Josie?" Aiden had never been spoken to like this before. "Didn’t you hear what I said?"

Josie blinked at him like she’d just noticed him. "Were you talking to me? Sorry, I’m not here for you. I’m here for the competition meeting on behalf of our team."

She then turned to the guy from the student government, who’d been talking to Aiden earlier. "Jefferson, can you sign us in and give us a brochure?"

"Of course. You and your friend, come on over," Jefferson said, giving Aiden a quick look, clearly surprised. Most girls liked Aiden. He talked like a jerk most of the time, but they still followed him around. This was the first time Jefferson saw two girls shut him down like this. He kind of liked it. He never thought he’d see the day someone did that to Aiden.

"Hold it right there," Aiden snapped. He couldn’t believe Josie was treating him like this. It made him look bad. "There’s a line, Josie. With your skills, why are you even in this competition? Don’t make a fool of yourself. Just go home," he said. That was always his first move—tear her down and make her feel worthless. Then he’d move in.

Josie smiled. "I’m not embarrassing you. Why are you so worked up? Or are you afraid I’ll embarrass myself, so now you won’t even let me compete, huh? Does student government have that kind of power?" With a cold look, she turned to Jefferson.

"No, we don’t," Jefferson said quickly, shaking his head. "Aiden, you can’t stop her from entering."

Aiden’s face darkened. "Shut up. This has nothing to do with you. It’s between me and Josie." He reached out, trying to grab her. "Come with me. We need to talk."

"No," Josie said, stepping out of reach. Suddenly, it hit her—they always wanted to talk in private. She used to wonder why, but she got it now. It was because all that "for her own good" nonsense fell apart the moment it was brought into the light.

She looked at Aiden, amused. "No, you’re wrong. This isn’t between you and me. It’s between our team and the student government. Are you planning to abuse your position to keep us from competing?"