Chapter Twenty-Two:

The rest of the weekend passed without too much excitement. I went back to the doctor Saturday afternoon, so he could check my head. No permanent damage, so that’s good. Eventually, the guys let us live down our make-out session sans clothes.

It’s Monday morning and I currently hate life. My memory is crap because of the concussion. I’m not allowed to drive until I get the okay from the doc. I don’t want to go to school, but I really can’t skip anymore days. The mother-unit will be back tonight and I don’t have any idea how that’s going to go. Doug told me that I could stay with him and that didn’t have to change. As much as I like the idea, I’d rather not stay wherever my mother happens to be. I don’t know, yet.
“Ace, you almost ready?” Brian asked me from outside my bathroom door.

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.” I told him. I ran my fingers through my hair and dabbed on a bit of red-tinted lip gloss. I looked at my reflection. I’d done my best to cover up my grotesque black eye. I still had a cut above my eye and you could see minimal bruising, but it’s definitely better than it was. I played up my eyes and did my best impression of bedroom eyes.

I looked over my clothing choices. I opted for something different today. I’m dressed in a white floral dress with off-the-shoulder straps. I smoothed my fishnets and pulled on a short pair of socks before sliding on my boots. I lifted my hair while I pulled on my black, leather jacket and left it curled to one side.

You gotta fake it, till you make it. In high school, confidence is key. If you don’t have that, they’ll eat you alive. I took a deep breath before leaving the safety of my bathroom.

“Wow,” Brian breathed. I looked up at him, meekly.

“I look… bad. Don’t I?” I asked, nervously. I played with the hem of my dress. I don’t normally do dresses, but it’s soft against my back… and I felt like doing something different today.

“You look gorgeous.” He smiled. “You know we could just here and I could give you another massage.” He offered. I grinned and rolled my eyes.

“No. We barely made it through last time. If someone walks in on us again, they’ll never let us live it down. Ever.” I declined his ever so tempting offer.

“Suit yourself, Ace. I’ll take that as a rain-check.” He smirked as he leaned down to kiss me. My hands found his hair and we were fused in a lip-lock before long.

“If you two don’t get a move on, you’re going to be late!” Doug yelled at us. I chuckled and pulled away.

“You heard the man. We have to go.” I sighed.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re going.”

---

We didn’t say much on the ride to school. There really wasn’t much to say. It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here for almost a week and a half. So much has changed. It’s crazy.

“You ready to this, Ace?” Brian asked me. I made a face, but nodded. I climbed out of his car and grabbed my bag.

“Is anyone ever ready for hell?” I quipped. He smirked.

“It’s that bad and you have me.” He reminded me.

“You’re not so bad.” I sighed. He stared me down until I apologized. “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s get this over with.”

“That’s the spirit.” He threaded his fingers through mine and we braved the hallways. After stopping by our lockers and a quick kiss in front of my classroom, we parted ways. I settled into an empty desk and waited for class to start. Jimmy nodded to me. I smiled at him as he sat next to me.

“You don’t look thrilled to be back.” He noted.

“Am I that obvious?” I asked him. He chuckled. “I’ll so happy when I graduate. I can’t deal with another year of high school. I’d die.” I deadpanned.

“Awe, come on now. We’re not that bad.” Some brunet guy sitting across from us chimed in. I raised my eyebrows. His hair is perfectly styled. He has a dazzling smile that I’m sure he uses to get away with murder on a daily basis. He’s wearing a varsity sports jacket, a polo, a very worn pair of jeans, and expensive looking footwear. “Everyone knows it’s the people that make the high school experience bearable. Didn’t you just move here? You just don’t know the right people.”

“And who would the right people be?” I asked him, honestly curious.

“If you have to ask, you’re not as observant as I thought you were.” He told me, before gesturing to himself, some jocks in letter-man jackets littering the desks nearest him, and some angry, very made-up plastics. I smirked at him.

“And what makes you the ‘right people’?” I asked him.

“We’re school royalty. Everyone wants to hang with us.” He explained. I rolled my eyes.

“Get over yourself, Brad Pitt. I think you need an ego check.” I told him, sweetly. He looked offended.

“Looks like she’s got you all figured out, Mike.” Some nameless jock told the guy, punching his arm. He rolled his eyes. “She’s with Haner, anyway. Don’t waste your time.”

“There’s always time to change her mind.” Mike smirked. I rolled my eyes, again. One of the plastic looking girls with blonde hair was staring at me. She looked at my clothes and my bag. I feel like I’m about to become her breakfast.

“Good luck with that, Mike. Brian’s hotter than you.” She told the jock, before winking at me. I laughed. Maybe she’s not so bad after all. “Is it really necessary for you to try and bone all of the fresh meat as soon as they get here? I mean, some of them have standards.” She continued.

“Blow me, Tiffany. You’re just bitter because I turned you down.” Mike jibed.

“Who turned who down?” She asked, before turning around.

“Step off, Mike.” Jimmy told him.

“What yourself, Sullivan.” Mike countered.

“Put your dicks away, guys. Mike, is it? You primp too much for my taste. I’m great with my people.” I assured him. Almost on cue, the teacher walked into the room. Everyone quieted down and I pulled out my assignments. I got up and walked over to her desk.

“Ms. Ryan I have those assignments for you.” I told her, before handing them over. She smiled at me. “I also wanted to know if you had any extra credit available.” I asked her.

“Sure, Lydia just let me see what I have and I’ll get back to you tomorrow. How’s that sound?” She asked me. I nodded, gratefully.

“Sweet, thank you.” I told her before sitting down. There was a note on my desk when I sat back down. I opened it and skimmed the contents.

I know I come across as jackass, sometimes. I’m not all bad. Just give me a chance to prove it to. You know you want to. ;-)
-Mike

I rolled my eyes. The guy just doesn’t stop. I tapped Jimmy on the shoulder and passed him the note. He read it and shook his head, before giving it back. I looked at it again.

Just be careful, Lydia. The guy’s bad news. He’s not the best company to keep. Ya know?
-J

I nodded at what he wrote.

Trust me; you have nothing to worry about on my end. Been there. Done that. Not doing it again.
:P
-L

I passed the note back to him, before starting a new one.

If you don’t want to come across as a jackass – don’t be a jackass. It’s pretty simple. I’m with Brian, which you already know. So, that’s not happening. If you really want to prove you’re not just another douche-bag, be nice to people. Friends are excellent.
-Lydia.

I slid the arrogant jock the slip of paper when Ms. Ryan wasn’t looking. Good God, it’s going to be a long, fucking day. I put my head down and listened to the lecture.

---

By the time lunch rolled around, I was so ready to leave. I all but jumped on Brian when I saw him. He picked me up off of my feet and twirled me as I hugged him. I laughed.

“I missed you.” I whispered.

“You saw me an hour ago.” He reminded me.

“Do you know how many stupid people go to the school?” I asked him. He just laughed. “Let’s eat. Mama is starving.”

We walked through the lunch line and got food. I ate slowly while the guys inhaled their food. I sipped my water and doodled in my sketch book. I have to sketch two people for class tomorrow. I finished Brian’s profile and started on Zacky. He’s telling some story and he’s so animated. The faces he’s making are priceless.

“That’s really good.” Matt said from behind me. I jumped and spilled my water on the table. I shook my head and mopped up the water with a few napkins.

“Don’t do that! You’ll give me a heart attack.” I told him. He chuckled.

“We wouldn’t want that – would we?” He said, softly. He rubbed my shoulder for a minute too long before pulling away. I looked at him curiously. No one else seemed to notice.

“Matt…” I whispered. He looked over at me, smiling. He raised his eyebrows. I’m probably making something out of nothing. “Never mind.”

---

“I want you to pair up into groups of two and start on your homework.” Mr. Matthews announced to the class. I looked over to the side of me and saw Tiffany, again. I didn’t realize we had so many classes together.

“Partners?” She asked me. I nodded.

“Yeah, sure,” I told her, before scooting my desk towards hers. “Hey, thank you, for earlier.” I told her. She waved away my gratitude.

“Oh, with Mike? That was nothing. He seems to think that he’s God’s gift to women everywhere. I like to the be the one to remind him that’s not the case.” She smiled. I laughed.

“Either way, I appreciate it. I don’t have any female friends here.” I explained.

“Well, you can’t say that anymore.” She teased, still smiling. We got to work on our homework. I felt that nagging sense that someone was staring at me. I stretched and glanced behind me. Sure enough, Matt was looking right at me. He didn’t even try and look away when my eyes met his. Maybe he isn’t giving up on this, like I thought he would. “Someone’s got an admirer.” Tiffany whispered.

“Matt?” I asked her, still looking at him. He gave a slight head nod.

“Yeah, he’s been looking over here all period, every time you haven’t been looking.” She revealed. I sighed, turning my attention to her instead of Matt. “Were you guys together?” She asked me. I shrugged.

“Not really, no. I mean, we kissed a few times. For a little while, I was into Matt and Brian. We kept things casual, but I didn’t want to string anyone along. So, I realized that Brian was the guy for me.” I told her.

“I get it. And what? Matt told you that he was cool with being friends? Because, girl, he doesn’t look like he’s that happy with only being your bud.” She whispered.

“Yeah, I’m starting to see that. I don’t want any complications. You know?”

“Girl, preach to the choir. A bunch of us are going for manis and pedis tomorrow. I’ll let you know the details in class, alright?” She told me, as the bell rang. I nodded.

“That sounds great. I need some girl time. Thanks Tiff.” I told her smiling. She shrugged.

“No big,” she sang as she gave me a quick hug, before bouncing away.

I walked over to Matt and waited until the rest of the class had dispersed. I put a hand on his arm. I glanced over at Mr. Matthews and he was grading papers, not paying us any attention, or at least pretending not to.

“What are you playing at?” I whispered.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I’m with Brian. You know that.” I told him in a hushed voice.

“That doesn’t mean that I like it. I was okay sharing you.”

“Bullshit.”

“You can always change your mind.” He told me.

“I thought you were his friend.”

“I am and I’m also yours. You really didn’t know how this would play out?”

“Stop! I’m asking you to respect my decision and not to complicate things.”

“Lydia,” he whispered, stroking my face.

“No, stop. I’m telling you to stop.”

“Fine. I’ll stop for now.”

“I’m not keeping this from him.”

“I didn’t ask you to.” He sneered. I shivered.

“You’re better than this.” I told him, before leaving the classroom. I kicked the lockers nearest to me, before going to find Brian.

“Hey Ace, you okay?”

“Not really, no.” I answered. How am I gonna explain this one? Fuck my life.

Notes

Alright, you lovely, lovely people, a few things: the rating will be changing in the next chapter or so. Lynn will make an appearance in the next chapter. Predictions about what Matt or Brian will do? Drama is just starting!

Xo,
Katie