Read Online The Gossip Web by Chelsea Lynn Charters - Free Book Online Page A

smile or say hey back because I wasn’t going to pretend like I was okay with him just popping into my life whenever he felt like it (even if he did manage to save me from a boring lecture). I was still mad at him, and there was no way I was going to forget what happened. So what if he was gorgeous and hot and…no, this was it. No more Ms. Nice Guy.
                  “Trace, I’m not sure if you know this but, I hate you,” I told him seriously.
                  He didn’t seem pained or even fazed by my remark as he stared blankly at me. I crossed my arms and frowned. Well, if he didn’t give a damn about what I thought about him then why did he bother seeing me at all? Trace continued to observe me without a word, his left brow raised slightly. He was annoying to look at.
                  I sighed loudly, sick of his temporary language disability. A few more moments of silence passed by and I rolled my eyes. “Hello? Is anyone in there?”
                  Trace still didn’t say anything, which irritated me even more. I wondered if he knew that his silence was getting to me; if he was being stupid on purpose. I wouldn’t put it past him. He had confessed to me once that he liked to watch me unravel.
                  Fed up with his immaturity, I frowned and said, “Alright, see you later then.” I turned my back on him and walked towards my classroom door, eager to get far away from Trace and all of the drama that came with him. I just couldn’t deal with it anymore.
                  “Wait,” Trace spoke up, and the sound of his voice caused me to hesitate in the middle of the hallway.
                  I turned my head in his direction slowly, a grave expression on my face. “What do you want, Trace?” I asked him sharply.
                  He shrugged casually and replied, “Nothing.”
                  “Nothing? You got me out of class for no reason?” I sighed and shook my head. “I could be missing an important lesson right now and why? Because you can’t leave me alone!” I didn’t conceal my anger and I didn’t care. I was tired of his games; this whole situation was really beginning to piss me off.
                  “That’s not really why I did it…” Trace replied softly.
                  “Then why did you, Trace?” I pressed him.
                  “Because, I…I…” he stammered lightly, and glanced away from me. He was acting like he was nervous or something---but he couldn’t be nervous around me, could he?
                  “Trace, come on,” I grumbled. “Just tell me and get it over with!”
                  He narrowed his blue eyes at me. “Jade, I’m trying to do something here…okay? Be a little patient.”
                  I ignored his demand and asked, “And what are you trying to do exactly?”
                  “I’m trying to---” His voice broke off, but after taking a deep breath Trace finished what he had to say. “I want to ask you something.”
                  My heart skipped at the suspense of his question. What could he possibly have to ask me? A million hopeful thoughts flooded my mind, but I pushed them all out. I had to be realistic. It was obvious Trace thought only of me as a friend and nothing more. Although, there could be a slim chance that he wanted more…No, I had to let it go. Trace wasn’t interested in me the way I was him. He wasn’t…I was sure of it.
    “Oh really? Fire away.” I forged my voice to sound cool and unconcerned, as if I didn’t care about what he was going to ask me. In all honesty though, I was dying to know.
    Trace watched me anxiously as he dragged a shaky hand through his messy hair. He chewed his lip thoughtfully, then suddenly blurted out, “Will you go to the dance with me?”
    I was absolutely shocked by what he