He certainly didn’t let the situation affect his trademark way of leading the Student Council to greatness. Even when things were at their most awkward (or at least when they felt the most awkward), Phil still ended Student Council meetings wirth a smile on his face and equal, diplomatic treatment to all members, including her.
Great, that about wraps things up.” he concluded after a council meeting, then went about his usual end-of-meeting thanks. “Megan, good job at putting up those posters before the new semester. Eli, well done at staying in contact with Mr. Williams. Jeff, make sure to get everyone hyped for the spirit week coming up.” Jeff and Phil executed a definitely-rehearsed high-five at that, to show off to the rest of the council how school spirit was shown by them. “And to the lovely Nicole, great job at organizing the parent-teacher conference next month.”
He couldn’t stop himself from looking intently at Nicole, hoping for some kind of reaction. Nicole didn’t seem to respond beyond raising an eyebrow at him. Internally, Phil sighed – even if she didn’t like him anymore, which broke his heart, she could at least be diplomatic with him, instead of being so childish.
“Alright,” Phil elected to continue without dwelling too much on her, “Natalie, for next week you’re in charge of keeping out social media pages updated. And Adam, I expect a full report of what the kids around school think.”
Adam gave Phil a simple thumbs-up in response, no emotion on his face. Adam was only getting harder to read as time went on. Phil really wanted to believe in Adam, and really wanted to win over Adam. He wanted Adam to admire him, because at least morally speaking, Adam should have. It was hard to tell whether Adam had turned over a new leaf or not – shortly after Adam was chastised in front of the whole council, Megan practically danced into the council room and gushed about the over-the-top way Adam apologized. It was pretty damn clear to the entire council that she was flat-out lying, but as their private meeting afterwards concluded, no one in the council honestly believed Megan was lying because Adam made her.
Except for Matt. If there was one person that trusted Adam less than Phil, it was Megan’s big brother, for obvious reasons. He was still firmly in the ‘Let’s boot Adam’ camp, but surprisingly, even Nicole had changed her mind and wanted to keep Adam in and thought he was a good egg now. And Phil would never admit it out loud, but Nicole could sway a room, even against him. Once Nicole said Adam was trustworthy, it had ben decided.
Every time Phil asked (and he asked often, being a paranoid man), Nicole insisted that she and Adam ‘weren’t friends, per se.’ And yet they were always chatting, leaving together, hanging out at the gym, doing everything together. Anyone who knew who Adam was assumed that he was Nicole’s boyfriend, and if the paranoid jealous Phil had anything to say in response, it was always a vehement, “No!” He knew Nicole and Adam weren’t romantically paired, and could guess that maybe she was giving him handjobs every so often, but… why?
And why were they such a pair? Nicole was almost famous for barely treating her friends with benefits like actual friends. Despite being the school slut, there were a large number of boys that specifically stayed away from her because they knew they’d get feelings for her. Feelings she’d never reciprocate for any boy, except for two brothers. Jeff Love, Phil’s older brother, didn’t know what he had and disrespected her. And Phil… Phil still didn’t know what he did wrong.
The bottom line was, Adam was still conniving. Maybe he wasn’t flat-out emotionally manipulating girls anymore, but he still seemed like the same type of guy. And Nicole could always see through acts like that. How in the fuck could she stand to be around Adam?
“Cool, you’re free to leave. Great job, everyone.” Phil found himself saying as his mind continued to wander. He knew it wasn’t healthy to obsess over Nicole and imagine her with other guys like this, but he couldn’t help himself. He was still head-over-heels for her, and any wishes he had that she felt anything for him were always dashed these days, any time he tried to talk to her. What kind of friendship was he even trying to salvage?
Everyone in the council room quickly and quietly filed out. The Schneiders, Matt and Megan, were quietly talking to each other, Jeff started gathering some papers containing school info, and Nicole was… approaching Adam, playfully pinching his sides, giggling and talking to him as if she was having a blast. Phil almost felt physically sick, wondering if maybe Adam was doing something romantic with her. He wouldn’t be able to take that. Phil understood Nicole would move on, and quickly, but… not him.
Phil tore his eyes away from the duo and elected to help Jeff with the paperwork. The two mumbled with each other about next week’s meeting and responsibilities until someone broke into their conversation. “Hey, Phil?”
Adam’s voice. Phil instantly felt nervous, for reasons he couldn’t explain, but needed to play it cool. “Yo.” he replied, looking up from his papers.
“I… I wanted to ask you about something. Advice for next year, that kind of thing.” Adam nervously continued.
If Phil wanted Adam to look up to him, whatever he was doing certainly seemed to work. “I’m flattered, my man.” Phil responded, unable to hide his grin from knowing he had Adam where he wanted him. “Shoot.”
“Oh, well, I’m actually kinda shy about it. I was wondering if we could have this chat alone.” Adam replied, playing with his fingers.
“Girl trouble.” Jeff snickered, and Phil joined him in his grin.
“Thinkin’ the same thing, man. Thinkin’ the same thing.” Phil replied, bumping Jeff’s fist. That said, Phil thought it went a step deeper. Adam realized he was treating girls badly and wanted to run his situation by Phil. Maybe get some advice on how to be a better person. How could anyone be mad at that? Adam was trying to be a better person. Maybe he even wanted advice on how to court Nicole… and if that were the case, maybe Phil could give some… less-than-stellar advice. Just to protect Nicole from his type, of course. “Sure, buddy, no problem.” He cleared his throat. “Alright, everyone, skedaddle.” He saw that only about four people were still in the room anyway, but they all took the hint and left.
On the way out, he saw Megan waving to Adam. Adam waved back. Maybe it was her he was still courting. “Some girl, huh? Is she the girl you’re lookin’ at?” He then realized this was his opportunity to make sure Adam was, in fact, being a good egg and pressed further. “What’s your story with her anyway, weren’t you two together not too long ago? Y’know, after the whole… ‘in a classroom’ thing?”
“It’s a long and complicated story.” Adam replied, not taking his eyes away from where she was.
“That’s what they all say.” Phil replied, punching Adam in the shoulder playfully before getting up to close the door, allowing them some privacy. “So, what do you wanna ask?”