Faking It

Chapter 11: Tutors and Texts

"Okay, but why do I have to care about which general was posted at what fort in what year?" I whined, flattening myself against the study table. "History sucks."

"History does not suck," William said diplomatically. "And you need to know it because those who do not—"

"Yeah, yeah, I listened in class. 'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.' But it's not like I'm ever gonna be making history." I grumbled, pushing myself back upright. When I turned the textbook page only to find another interminable list of dates and battles and old white men, I groaned and dropped my face into my folded arms. "Why is this so hard?"

"Ellie."

I blew a piece of hair out my face as I looked up at William.

He held my phone out to me. "Unlock it."

"Why?" I asked warily.

A smile tugged at the corner of his cheek. "I'm giving you my number so you can text me next time you're confused. Ideally before you do such a terrible job at a chapter summary."

My heart did a little kick-step. To hide the blush rising in my cheeks, I made a face at him and unlocked the phone. After a few quick keystrokes, he handed it back. Some part of me almost asked why he didn't take a contact picture like Theo had, but the mere thought of Theo and his damned deal tangled my throat up again.

"Thanks," I said, then jumped when I noted the time. "Holy—wasn't this only supposed to be an hour? I thought you had an alarm on or something. It's almost curfew!"

"Yeah," William said, stretching, "I did have an alarm. But I turned it off when I realized how much help you needed."

I deflated. "This is hopeless, isn't it? I'm like, years behind. I'll never—"

"Stop." William's hand landed on mine, atop my phone. The tennis callouses on his fingers scraped my skin, sending a pleasant jolt all the way up my arm. "You're going to be fine. It's early in the semester, and once you hit your stride, you'll get more used to making detailed notes like this on your own. Trust me."

When he smiled, I almost seized him by his crew neck collar to drag him across the table and kiss him. But the spell broke when he pulled his hand from mine and gathered his things.

He checked his phone. "How's Tuesday after class?"

"I have practice."

He made a face. "There's a council meeting Wednesday, and Thursday won't work. You have study hall last period on Tuesday, right? I'll put in a request to use it for tutoring."

"Look at you, wielding those presidential powers." I shoved my books into my bag with a low whistle. "Maybe you can veto my need to take history at all."

He chuckled, rising. "And miss out on fun nights like this? I think not."

I nearly melted into a puddle at the way he smiled and held the study room door for me.

Like the gentleman he was, he walked all the way back to the dorm with me before his phone blipped in his pocket and he bid me goodnight while he checked it. My chest tightened, wondering whether it was Madeleine who had him smiling down at his screen as he jogged up the steps to the boys' wing. A burst of cackles from the girls watching TV in the corner ripped me from my reverie. Emma was among them, a snide smile on her face as if she'd watched my little lovesick display in its entirety. I rolled my eyes and stomped upstairs.

As I brushed my teeth and Gyeong-Ja went through her multi-step skincare routine beside me, I eyed my phone. I wasn't expecting a text—William didn't have my number, after all—but I was definitely fighting temptation. It was only when Gyeong-Ja switched off her fairy lights and plunged us into darkness that I rolled over and scrolled through my contacts.

Thanks for all your help tonight. You're gonna be so impressed with my next chapter summary 😉

My finger hovered over send, before I made a face, deleted half the text, and swapped out the winky face for a smile.

Thanks for all your help tonight 😊

I hit send before I could overthink it and stared at my screen, waiting and hoping for the reply bubble.

I bit my lip to mute my squeal when it popped up almost immediately. William typed for a few agonizing seconds before his reply appeared.

Any time 🙂 Good night, Ellie

I scrunched my mouth up, disappointed that he'd left it at that. But still, it wasn't nothing. He'd replied—and quickly, too. He had my number now. And he believed in me. I hugged my phone, already dreaming about what it would be like to stay up all night texting him, imagining the blue glow of his phone as he stared at it in his dorm bed, somewhere in the next building. Maybe one day I'd be the one making him smile when he stared down at it.

**A/N I know this was a short one, so I'm going to post the next one this weekend to make up for it! As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**