Nero (Made Men #1) (4 page)

Chapter
Five

Don’t Lie to Me

Elle decided to wait
until lunch to tell Chloe what had occurred in the halls since anyone could listen in on them in the classroom. Plus, they would have something to talk about over lunch.

Elle found that
, without Cassandra, no one paid any attention to them. It was like they were invisible. Some might think nothing could be worse than being invisible, but Elle and Chloe certainly liked being un-noticed. It was like they were on vacation. Hell, Elle would give anything to be Casper the friendly ghost and trade in her being-bullied days. Anyone who had never been bullied could never understand what she and Chloe went through five days a week.

Before Elle knew it, it was five minutes
until lunch. She hadn’t even thought about the murder once since the hallway break when Nero had run into her. She wondered what that meant, but then quickly pushed it out of her mind.

I should be in an asylum, yet I have never been happier.
She thanked God for whatever the reason Cassandra not being there was.

The lunch bell rang and Elle and Chloe headed for the door
. When they reached the hallway, Chloe spoke.

“This is the best day of my life!”
For the first time in years, Elle saw Chloe smile at school, not to mention in the hallway.

“I know
. Best freaking day ever. I wonder why Cassandra isn’t here.”

“Who cares? I never thought one person was the sole reason for high school b
eing such a nightmare for us.” Elle loved seeing Chloe like this.

“Yeah
, me either.” They walked in the cafeteria and looked at their choices. They still picked the line that was less intimidating, not wanting to push their luck.
Chicken patty day it is.

They grabbed their lunches and sat at their usual table,
and then Elle leaned over the table and said, “I have to tell you what happened when you left me this morning. By the way, what the hell? Why did you do that?”

“Because Mr. Evans said he needed to speak with you
, not me. I knew it was about you not turning in your essay. He wasn’t going to talk about it in front of me, you know that.” Chloe picked up a fry and tossed it in her mouth. “Oh, and why didn’t you turn in your essay? It was the first assignment of the semester.”

“I was sick
. Listen, I have to tell you something. You’re not going to believe who talked to me and didn’t want me dea—”

“You were sick
? Really, that’s the excuse you’re giving me? I hope you didn’t use that on him.”

“Uh
, yes, I was sick. That’s the truth and he believed me. Why can’t you?”

“Probably because not once have you
not
turned in an assignment, and you get sick all the time. You practically stay sick. There isn’t anything that goes around that you don’t catch.”

Elle stared at Chloe
. She was right; she was always getting sick. Her friend wouldn’t take the sick card. However, Elle couldn’t tell her that she had seen a man get whacked last night. She could never tell anyone she had seen what happened. Elle had watched the movies—the less you knew, the better. They couldn’t hurt you for information you didn’t know.

“Well
, this was a different kind of sick.” Elle hoped Chloe would take it. She wanted to move on to something she
could
tell her.

Elle looked over at
Nero’s table. He wasn’t there.

H
mm, he’s always right there.

“Hey
, babe, can I sit here?” Elle turned her head and saw Nero standing there, holding a tray.

Did he just really ask that
, and did he just really call me ‘babe’?

“Are you serious
? Sit
here
?” Elle pointed to the chair beside her.

“Yes
, I was talking directly to you, wasn’t I?” Nero was definitely a smartass.

Elle looked at Chloe,
whose mouth hung open. Elle knew right away she didn’t want anyone around her; Chloe didn’t like new people.

Besides,
the moment ‘babe’ had come out of his mouth, she had solidified her decision.
I don’t care if it is a handsome mouth.

“No
, you clearly weren’t because my name isn’t ‘babe’. I bet you don’t even know my name. So, no, you cannot sit here, Nero.” That was the first time she had ever spoken his name, although at least she knew it. Elle was sure he didn’t know hers.

She could tell
Nero was shocked by her answer.
He must think he can call a girl ‘babe’ and get what he wants.

“Al
l right, babe. I’ll eventually be sitting right there. I can wait.” With that, Nero walked off. Elle didn’t even have time to think of a remark back.

H
e just said what?
As Elle saw him go back to his usual table, she noticed almost everyone was staring at her, mostly the girls.

Elle
glanced back at Chloe, whose mouth was still hanging open. Once she was finally able to swallow the food in her mouth, she let the questioning begin. “Don’t you think I deserved a little warning?”

“Jesus
, Chloe, I tried to tell you twice, but you kept interrupting me. I said you weren’t going to believe who talked to me.”

“Well
, tell me already!” She thought Chloe was going to shake her if she didn’t spill.

“When you left me, I went in the hall and he bumped into me. I tried to tell him sorry, but he told me
to not apologize for something I didn’t do. He actually talked to me and wasn’t mean.” Elle suddenly felt a little bad for talking to him like that, but then she thought better of it.
I mean, what if he is trying to pull a prank on me or something?

“I can
’t believe it. Nero is… nice?”

“No way
. He is…” She looked over at him. He was perfect, at least on the outside. However, he had never talked to her a day in her life. She was positive he had slept with half the girls at school; therefore, he didn’t lack for companionship, which only left two options. He either wanted to sleep with Elle or do something horribly mean to her
.

Either way
, he isn’t going to fool me.
“He wants something, but I’m not going to find out what it is. I know exactly who Nero Caruso is, and ‘nice’ is the last word I would use to describe him.”

“
Yeah, but aren’t you just a little curious?” Chloe raised her right eyebrow. It was missing a patch of hair from her scar. Elle noticed her black hair was swept behind her ear. “I know I am.” She hadn’t seen her this happy in a long time. She hated the fact that Cassandra would be back tomorrow to ruin it. Chloe deserved to be happy.

“No
, I’m not.” Elle didn’t even notice she was lying to herself at that moment.

When
Elle and Chloe finished their lunch and went to Spanish, Elle still couldn’t believe the audacity of Nero.

‘
All right, babe. I’ll eventually be sitting right there. I can wait.’

Who in the hell does he think he is? Oh
, right, the king of Legacy Prep.
Elle didn’t care if he was king of the world, she could feel he had an ulterior motive.

I mean
, why now? Why does he want to talk to me now?

Before Elle knew it, it was time for the last class of the day. Elle walked Chloe to her class
, continuing to keep up her speed in the halls, yet she worried much less today.

“Stay here and wait for me
. We’re not going to try to be bold just because Cassandra isn’t here. Clearly she’s the ringleader, but you know just as much as I do she is not the only one who likes to ruin our lives.” Elle gave Chloe a serious face. She wanted to make sure she got the full picture.

“I know
. I’ll wait right here.” Elle felt satisfied Chloe didn’t want to risk anything, either.

“Al
l right, catch you later.” Elle started her walk to the other side of the school.

When she reached her classroom
, she sat at the table she had been at yesterday. She was still going to leave as soon as the bell rang. Elle didn’t trust anyone in this school besides Chloe.

As
Elle felt someone sit down beside her, she turned and saw Nero sitting at the table with her.

“What are you doing?”

Nero smiled. “I’m sitting. I’ve decided I’m not going to be nice and ask your permission.”

Elle looked around the room
, noticing Cassandra’s bimbos looked pissed. Everyone else’s faces looked completely confused.

I’m just as confused.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your status is dropping every second you sit there.” Elle made sure she had her best sarcastic tone on.

Nero
laughed. “You think I give a shit what these people think?”

Elle looked at him
; like, really looked at him. He was much taller than her, but when they were sitting down, she didn’t have to look up to see his face. He had dark skin and was cleanly shaven, but she could tell he could grow a beard like any older man. Something about his eyes intrigued her; it was like they were emeralds.

“No
, clearly you don’t.”

As soon as
Elle went up to the back of the class to pick up her poster, Nero followed right behind her. He found his first and headed back to the table. Elle grabbed her blank poster and headed back as well. She laid the poster on the table and took her seat.

“How come yours doesn’t
have anything on it?”

“Because I haven’t decided what to put on it
.” Elle actually still hadn’t decided what to do with the darned thing.

“You do know you
’re just supposed to throw shit on it you like, right?”

“Yes
, I know that.” Elle stared at her poster and bit her lip.
Who am I?

“You
’re thinking too hard about this. What makes you happy?”

Elle looked at
Nero. She could tell he was confused as to why she didn’t know what to put on her poster. She swore he looked almost concerned.

What makes me happy?
She had never thought of it like that. A lot of things in her life made her upset; however, she knew what always made her happy; it was how she stayed sane.

Elle opened her satchel
, then grabbed some lined paper out and a pen.

She looked at
Nero, and for the first time, she gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

Nero threw
his arm behind her chair. “No problem, babe.”

And then he ruins it.
“Don’t call me that. You should go back.” Elle nodded toward the table he had sat at yesterday. The two girls had been putting daggers into her skin the entire time. “I think they miss you calling them ‘babe’, anyways.”

“Yeah
, you would know. I saw you watching me yesterday.”

“I don’t
kno—”

Nero
grabbed the back of her head and made her look at him. “Don’t lie to me. Not now, not ever.” His deep tone became serious and his eyes demanded an answer.

Elle could only
nod, her mouth starting to turn dry. She wasn’t scared of him.
But I probably should be.

“Good
. Now, this is where I’m going to sit whether you have a problem with it or not. I understand if you don’t want me to sit with you at lunch, for now, but don’t tell me to move again.”

After a second
, she retorted, “Fine.” Elle tried to make it seem as if she allowed him to sit there, but she knew she hadn’t won that one by the way he was smiling.
Arrogant asshole.

Shutting out the boy next to her,
Elle was finally able to begin filling the paper with her words. She had always loved to write; it helped her escape everything that troubled her, and Elle had a lot of troubles.

Every now and then
, she could sense Nero staring at her. She thought it was a strange feeling to have a boy look at her the way he did. She couldn’t describe the sensation because she had never had it before. No boy had ever looked at her or paid her any attention in high school. Now, within one day, Nero was talking to her and choosing to sit beside her. She didn’t know how to feel about it.

H
er emotions had been all over the place the last couple of days. As a result, Elle kept doing what she was doing—writing.

“Can I use your pen a second?”
Nero held out his hand.

“Yeah
, sure.” She gave him the pen and saw him outline something on his poster, although she couldn’t make anything out.

“You know
, in the supply closet there are much better writing pens. The words will stand out better with a nicer pen.”