𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎

chapter three

Thunder shook the building, lightning setting the sky alight.

"Jamie Corbin? The one with the dark hair? Oh, okay."

Connor's grip on the pillow tightened, his heart leaping into his throat. He was struck dumb at the words uttered mere moments ago, struggling to comprehend them. Of all the people in the school to have started the fight— Jamie Corbin? From Ms. Stewart's class?

The other people in the room turned back to face him, their gazes weighing down heavily.

"That doesn't matter. Who's your secret lover, Connor?"

His mind was fuzzy. He felt like he had been slammed into a wall.

"It's nothing," the words awkwardly tumbling from his lips. A ridiculous crush. He wondered why he even cared about the boy he had only ever acknowledged the existence of once, a mere few hours ago. Did he still care about him?

"You will tell us right here, right now," Roxy said.

The rain drumming against the windows was not loud enough to drown out the bewilderment filling Connor from head to toe. Again, why bother for just a stupid boy?

"I..." he breathed. The girls gave him confused looks.

Lily was the first to guess.

"Oh. My. God."

Connor scorned the idiot inside of him that had ever fallen for the violent Jamie.

"He has a crush on Jamie." The windows seemed to shatter.

At that moment, the room erupted into chaos. Debra nearly swallowed all of the air in the house with an enormous gasp. Roxy raced towards the boy, who had sunk so low into the red lounge that he had basically become one with it. She cackled maniacally.

Lily sat, almost dazed, in her spot, attempting to understand what had just happened.

"You're in love with a bad boy?" Roxy interrogated him where he lay, tackling him. Connor cringed at the words.

"No!" he cried out.

"Forget bad boy!" Lily said. "He's violent. He's dangerous!"

"He's a bad boy," Roxy mocked, kissing the air.

"Well, I definitely don't like him now! I don't think I ever really did!"

The redhead's hair covered Connor's face.

"I call bullshit," she said.

"Well, I hope not!" Debra said.

Connor fought against Roxy. "I didn't know he was the way he was. I didn't really care about him before today!"

Roxy paused. Suddenly, she burst into laughter.

"Today?" Debra shouted. "You've had a crush on him for a single day?"

"No! I mean... yeah?" More idiocy.

Roxy lay off Connor, grinning from ear to ear.

"It was stupid, I'm aware," he said. "Now I know that he's a horrible person and I'll never make the same mistake again. Happy?"

"Connor Bell and Jamie Corbin," the scarlet-haired girl said aloud, cupping her chin. Connor grimaced.

"You better stick to that promise, Connor," Lily warned from across the room. Her expression was deadpan.

"Of course, I will! You're saying that like a dare; as if you want me to date him!"

"Or is that what you want?" Debra retorted. She laughed at the boy rolling his eyes.