Glass Hearts [BL]
Chapter 42: Since When Did We Stop Hating Him?

Chapter 42: Since When Did We Stop Hating Him?

esus. Okay, first of all, you are not my sugar daddy."

"I mean... I could be."

"Dominic!" I hissed, slapping his arm.

He just grinned. "Relax. I’ll play it cool. I’ll just be your... friend."

I crossed my arms, trying not to smile as the light turned green.

A few minutes later, Dominic slowed to a stop in front of Estrella Middle School. A crowd of kids was already spilling out of the big double doors, chattering and laughing, neon backpacks bouncing as they ran out.

I scanned the until I spotted a familiar blonde head and a sparkly unicorn hoodie pushing through the crowd like she owned the place.

"There," I said, pointing. "That’s Alia."

Dominic followed my gaze. "She looks... fierce."

"She is."

Alia was halfway across the sidewalk when she noticed me.

"Ash!" she yelled, tuning towards me.

Towards the car, froze, mid-step. Her eyes flicked to the big black Range Rover.

Her expression instantly shifted.

She narrowed her eyes like a suspicious cat.

Hands on hips..

She marched straight up to the passenger side and pointed accusingly through the window.

"Who’s the guy in the fancy villain car?" she whispered. "Ash! Did you get kidnapped?! Blink twice if you’re in danger!"

Dominic let out a quiet laugh, then leaned slightly toward the window.

"Hey, kid."

Alia’s eyes widened..

She pointed at him again, gasping.

"YOU!"

She turned to me. "Ash, that’s the guy! The one you said you hated!"

I groaned and opened the back door for her. "Alia..."

She leaned into the open window. "You said he was a bad person," she declared. "That he had, and I quote, ’a stupid perfect face and annoyingly blue eyes.’"

Dominic laughed, clearly enjoying the show.

He raised both hands. "Guilty as charged. But for the record...I’m just offering your brother a ride. No kidnapping. No villainy. Yet."

Alia crossed her arms and squinted at him like she was trying to see if he’d explode under pressure.

Then... without another word, she climbed into the backseat and shut the door behind her.

Click.

Seatbelt on. Backpack on her lap. Eyes straight ahead.

This was an evaluation. And Dom was under inspection.

Dominic glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "So, hun, I’m a bad person with stupid perfect face now?"

I rubbed my face. "That was before we started talking."

Alia leaned forward between our seats.

"So, anime guy," she said, "where we going?"

Dominic smirked. "Yeah, Ash. Where are we going?"

I glanced back at her, then at him. "The hospital.."

Alia nodded slowly. She didn’t talk for a moment. Just quietly stared out the window as we pulled back into traffic.

Then...

"So..." Alia said casually, "do you have a girlfriend?"

Dominic’s eyebrows flew up. "Whoa. Straight to the point, huh?"

"Good," she said. "Because I’m single now too."

I turned to her. "Wait—what?"

Alia looked straight ahead.

"Jayden dumped me for Violet."

I tried not to laugh. "Jayden?"

"Yeah," she muttered. "It happened yesterday.

"He said he liked Violet more because she gave him her snacks during math class." Her voice wobbled at the end, though she tried to cover it by staring out the window.

Dominic’s voice dropped lower, gentle and surprisingly soft. "Listen, blondie. Any boy who picks snacks over you? Loser.."

I blinked, feeling something in my chest tug a little.

Not because I didn’t expect him to be kind....okay, maybe I didn’t, but because the way he said it wasn’t just to be charming. It was... sincere.

Alia sniffed. "But Violet gave him spicy chips. And I can’t eat those. They hurt my tongue."

Dominic gave her a solemn nod. "Then he clearly doesn’t deserve you. A real man would bring you your own non-spicy chips."

Alia blinked. "Really?"

"I think Jayden clearly has trash taste," he said. "And I think Violet is probably going to run out of snacks eventually. But you? You’re going to be president or a famous author or something. And he’s going to look back and realize he traded a queen for a bag of dry crackers."

Alia’s eyes lit up just a little.

"You think so?"

Dominic glanced back and grinned. "I know so."

Alia looked up at him through the rearview mirror. Then gave a sharp nod.

"Okay. I like you now."

Dominic shot me a smug grin. "Told you I’d win her over."

I rolled my eyes, trying to hide the smile tugging at my lips.

My fingers curled against my thigh, warm with something like... gratitude.

"Thanks... for that. Really."

Dominic glanced over, brows raising slightly. "For what?"

I shrugged, looking away. "For... saying the right thing. You didn’t have to, but you did."

Alia suddenly piped up again. "So... are you my brother’s boyfriend or just his friend?"

I choked. "ALIA!"

Dominic burst out laughing, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "God, I love this kid."

The traffic lights were just switching to green when Dominic suddenly pulled his car in front of a store.

"Hang tight, you two," he said, putting the car in park. "I’ll be back in a sec."

He slipped out, leaving the engine running and the cool AC.

I glanced over my shoulder at Alia. She was sprawled in the backseat, swinging her feet and humming her fave song- soda pop from K-pop demon hunters.

"So, Alia," I said, turning around to face her, "how was school today?"

Alia gave me a dramatic sigh.

"Ughh... Boring," she rolled her eyes. "Miss Torres made us copy, like, a million pages out of our science book, and then Ethan spilled his Capri Sun all over my desk, and now my pencil case smells like fruit punch."

I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. "Wow. Rough day."

She squinted at me, leaning forward between the seats. "But... Ash I thought we hated him."

I blinked. "Hated who?"

"Him." She pointed at the empty driver’s seat.

"Oh, Dominic? Well...we don’t anymore," I said, shrugging.

She frowned. "Since when?"

"Since I found out he’s not a bad person," I mumbled. "Also, do me a favor, okay? Don’t tell June or Marcus that he came to pick you up. Or else..." I lowered my voice and gave her a playful glare. "...no more rides in fancy cars for you."

Alia’s eyes widened. "Fine, fine! Jeez. I’m not a snitch." She crossed her arms and huffed.

Before she could say anything else, the driver’s door swung open, and Dominic slid back in, carrying two big brown paper bags that crinkled in his arms.

"Here," he said, leaning over the seat and handing the bags directly to Alia.

"OH MY GOD. It’s so much stuff!"

She gasped. "You bought the whole store!"

Alia smiled at me, yanking out a pack of chocolate bars. "Thank you, Dominic!" she squealed.

Dominic chuckled, buckling his seatbelt. "Anytime. I figured you’d need backup snacks for...punching annoying boys."