Hes a Hacker (Eckardt Wilken x Greg Owens) -Onderwerêld

Chapter 9

"I couldn't care less".

Greg turned so his whole body was facing mine. He was looking so smug. I knew he was going to question me again.
"So if a girl were to show interest in you, you'll automatically say no?"

"Pretty much"

Greg leaned forward, his hands in between his knees. He was really enjoying this.
"Let me guess, the idea of being with a girl scares you?"

I feel so offended by that statement. I scoffed, "I don't get scared."

"So if a girl were to make a move on you-"

"That wont happen".

Greg got slightly annoyed by my interrupting him.
"But if it magically did happen, what would you do if this hypothetical girl of your dreams were to kiss you?"

My heart felt like it dropped when I heard his question. He's got to be doing this on purpose, there's no way he knows I have a thing for him.

I tried to brush his question off with a shrug "I don't know, reject her I guess"

Greg laughed again. This time he leaned even closer. He was practically invading my personal space.

I needed an excuse, anything to escape this conversation. Before I go red.

"Actually, I'm exhausted. I haven't slept well recently. I'm gonna go to sleep"
This was a lie, of course, I slept like a baby last night. Not even a tornado could wake me up.

Greg hummed, noticing the look on my face. "I'll come with you"

I sighed and got up. As I started walking next to him, Nicole called for us while looking confused.

"Where are you two going? You've hardly even been here for 10 minutes. The night is still young."

Greg put his hand on my shoulder, he was getting a rise out of my discomfort.
"Ekko here is tired. I'm helping the little princess up to bed"

Nicole rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath. I'm sure she called me a "baby"
I guess we finally have something in common after all.

Greg started making his way inside, his hand still on my shoulder. I tried my best to ignore the warmth of his touch.

It didn't take us long to get inside the house and out of the girls' line of sight. Thankfully, they were distracted by the music and just continued chatting.

Greg let go of my shoulder and was now walking beside me.

I exhaled, feeling a sense of relief now that we were away from everyone else. I needed space to calm my thoughts down.

"You know, if you wanted to spend time alone with me, you could've just said so" Greg teased.

I could just imagine the cheeky smile on his face without even looking.

"I'm being serious Greg, I'm tired" I said, trying to sound firm.

"Sure sure"

We stopped in front of the staircase. Greg leaned on one of the railings and looked at me with crossed arms.

I stood next to the staircase, leaning against the wall. Despite my best efforts, I found myself staring at Greg. Even though he was a pain in my ass, he was still pleasing to look at.

"So let me get this right", he said, breaking the silence, "You're so tired you want to go to bed at 8pm?"

I crossed my arms and smirked, trying to match his energy. "You're judging me for wanting my beauty sleep?", I feigned mock offense.

Greg chuckled and shrugged. "Oh I'm not judging you. I'm just getting to the bottom of those bullshit excuses you're making up"

I rolled my eyes and continued with sarcasm. "How kind of you, all worried about my well-being"

Greg pushed off from the railing and took a couple of steps closer to me. He smirked. "Oh no no, I'm definitely not worried. I'm just trying to figure out your game"

Greg was now standing directly in front of me, looking slightly down at me with a mix of amusement and challenge.

I raised one of my eyebrows and stared directly into his eyes. Without breaking eye contact, I replied with a snarky tone. "My game? You're going to have to be more specific"

Greg still had a smug look on his face, like he knew he was making me uncomfortable but was enjoying every second of it. He chuckled and leaned in just slightly.

"I mean this whole act you've got going on" He gestured to me. "The whole 'I don't like girls', 'I'm an anti-social loser with no emotions' act you're putting on"

I raised my chin slightly, maintaining eye contact. I was challenging him, pushing him. I love a good stand up, especially if it's with Greg.

"It's not wrong" I said, my voice steady. "I am cold. It's just who I am. I prefer to keep my walls up".

Greg's eyes stayed locked on mine, studying me intently. The air between us was thick with tension.
"So, you expect me to believe you're just naturally a cold person?" He asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

I took one step forward, so we were even closer now, our faces mere inches apart.
I stared up at him, the playful edge in my voice was gone.

"You think you know me?" I asked, my voice low.
"I know way more than you think Owens. About you, your family and what they've done"

Greg was surprised by my statement but he tried to hide it.
"And what exactly do you think you know about me?"

I tilted my head to one side and looked directly into his eyes. I could see the flicker of confusion cross his face, he had no clue what I was referring to.

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't believe me even if I tried. You'll figure it out soon enough though, trust me."

I pushed past him and started walking towards the stairs, making my way to our room.
I could hear him following me. He's dead quiet, he's in his own head. He's trying to figure out what I could be referring to. He won't know though. At least, not yet.

Tomorrow is the day.