An Awkward Conversation with Chad

"Don't talk to me," Whitney must have spent the entire US Government class seething in her anger. She snaps at Chad as the class ends and storms out of the room by herself. Rarely does she break off from the pack.

Ky;e starts to make a beeline to Tanya, but diverts as Chad steps between them. "Who needs her, right?" Chad says, putting his arm around Tanya's shoulder. Tanya shivers as that crush she'd been ignoring due to all of the conditioning from Maggie and Kyle worms it's way back to the surface. Chad aggressively juts out his chin at Kyle. After years of bullying, Kyle's been conditioned to recognize that this means back off. He meekly says "see you in Physics, Tanya" before scurrying off with Josh.

Chad and Tanya slowly stroll. She's grinning. Maybe it was time to return to her original plan. Chad keeps talking. "That was an impressive show yesterday, Wegner. Honestly, odds would have expected you'd run screaming from the field in tears. But you owned Whitney's prank with all of your...assets." He gazes down at her breasts.

"Oh, I didn't mind," Tanya admits thanks to the curse. "Whitney probably thought I'd care, but I actually like showing off my body."

Chad stops walking and holds Tanya back to. He wasn't expecting that answer. "So it wasn't just you refusing to back down?"

"Oh no, if it wasn't a violation of code of conduct I'd recommend we work it into the competition," Tanya smiles. "Did you..." she blushes "did you like seeing my body, Chad?"

"Y-yeah," the normally confident jock stammers. "But, damn, what's up with you? This summer when we were dating for a few weeks I tried to get your shirt off and you freaked out. Honestly, I thought, eventually..." Chad suddenly seems shy "...well, I'd be the first guy to see you...see your body....not the whole football team like yesterday. What changed?"

Tanya puts a hand on his cheek. "I don't know why, but I don't care as much anymore. But Chad, you spent all summer flip-flopping between Whitney and me. I wasn't going to give up anything unless you commit." She was shocked by her honesty.

They step into a quiet corridor. "You don't understand, Tanya, you're both stone-cold foxes. I considered dating you heading into the school year, but now you're hanging with the Losers Club. What's up with that?"

Tanya smiles brightly. "Maggie and Kyle are my bffs. But you are, too, Chad."

He shakes his head. He pushes her hand away. "Yeah, see, that's the problem. I totally get what you're playing at. Obviously, you think this Princess Diana treat everyone equal bullshit is to fuck with Whitney. It's cute, but that isn't going to fly with my bros. They can't see me dating someone who sits with the Losers Club, brags about watching Japanese cartoon porn, and wants to show her body off to anyone."

Tanya's brain struggles to piece everything together. Maggie and Kyle were her best friends, but she was hanging out with Maggie to get close to her dad, but she was also doing it to fuck with Whitney. She's silent, gazing up at him, as she works through the conditioning. He notes her silence. "But, I really like you, Tanya." This time he touches her face. His thumb was at the edge of her mouth. "All of this status shit. It only matters until we graduate, right? I was thinking, maybe we could date in secret. You can keep doing whatever you think this is you're doing to mess with Whitney and we can secretly explore our mutual attraction." His thumb slides over her lower lip. "You don't need to answer now. Think about it. If you agree, meet me at the falls at sunset on Sunday. If you show up, I know you want to be my secret girlfriend."

Tanya hates the idea. Under normal circumstances, she'd never agree to it. It wouldn't benefit her at all to be his secret girlfriend but in her gut, she knows she was going to show up on Sunday. "Okay, I'll think about it," she replies as the class starting bell rings.

"Shit, we're going to be late and we can't show up late for Physics at the same time. I'll hang back for two minutes and take the tardy, you better hurry," he says. As Tanya scurries off he grins. "Loser," he says under his breath. He takes out his phone and sends a text.