Read Online The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - Free Book Online Page A

demanded.
    He looked over his shoulder at me with an exasperated sigh. “To my room, of course.”
    “Can’t we write the paper down here?” I asked.
    The corners of Wesley’s mouth turned slightly upward as he hooked a finger over his belt. “We could, Duffy, but the writing
     will go much faster if I’m typing, and my computer’s upstairs. You’re the one who said you wanted to get this over with.”
    I groaned and stomped up the stairs. “Fine.”
    Wesley’s bedroom was on the top floor—one of the rooms with a balcony—and it was bigger than my living room. His king-sizebed hadn’t been made yet, and video game cases were scattered on the floor beside his PlayStation 3, which was hooked into
     a big-screen TV. Surprisingly, the room smelled nice. It was a mixture of Wesley’s Burberry cologne and recently washed clothes,
     like he’d just put laundry away or something. The bookshelf that he walked toward overflowed with books by different authors,
     from James Patterson to Henry Fielding.
    Wesley bent over at the waist to look at the bookshelf, and I looked away from his Diesels as he pulled his own copy of
The Scarlet Letter
off the shelf and moved to sit on his bed. He gestured for me to join him, and I did, reluctantly. “Okay,” he said, thumbing
     absently through his hardcover book. “What should we write the paper on? Any ideas?”
    “I don’t—”
    “I was thinking we could do an analysis of Hester,” he suggested. “It sounds cliché, but I mean an in-depth characterization.
     Mainly, why did she have the affair? Why did she sleep with Dimmesdale? Did she love him, or was she just promiscuous?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God, do you always go for the simplest answer? Hester is way more complicated than that. Neither
     of those choices shows any imagination.”
    Wesley looked at me with one raised eyebrow. “All right,” he said slowly. “If you’re so smart, then why did she do it? Enlighten
     me.”
    “For distraction.”
    Okay, so maybe it was a little far-fetched, but I just kept seeing that damn manila envelope. Thinking of my selfish bitch
     of a mother. I kept wondering what my father was like drunk for thefirst time in eighteen years. My mind searched for anything—
anything—
that would distract me from the painful thoughts, so would it be too ridiculous to think that Hester felt the same way? She
     was lonely, surrounded by hypocritical Puritans, and married to a completely creepy, absentee English guy.
    “She just wanted something to get her mind off the bad shit in her life,” I mumbled. “Some way to escape…”
    “If that’s the case, that didn’t go well for her. It all backfired in the end.”
    I didn’t really hear him. My mind was rushing back to a night not long ago, a night when I’d found a way to push my worries
     out of my head. I remembered the way my thoughts had gone silent, letting my body take over. I remembered the bliss of nothingness.
     I remembered how, even after it ended, I’d been so focused on what I’d done that my other worries barely existed.
    “… so I guess that idea could make sense. It’s definitely a different angle, and Perkins likes creativity. We might get an
     A.” Wesley turned to look at me, and his expression grew suddenly concerned. “Duffy, are you okay? You’re staring off into
     space.”
    “Don’t call me Duffy.”
    “Fine. Are you okay,
Bian
—?”
    Before he could say my name, I closed the space between us. Quickly, my lips moved against his. The mental
     and emotional emptiness took over instantly, but physically, I was more alert than ever. Wesley’s surprise didn’t last as long as it
     had before, and his hands were on me in seconds. My fingers tangled in his soft hair, and Wesley’s tongue darted into my mouth
     and became a new weapon in our war.
    Once again, my body took complete control of everything. Nothing existed at the corners of my mind; no irritating thoughts
     harassed me. Even the