How To Stop Smoking

Rip her fake hair extensions out like velcro

Chapter Twenty-One

Rob

I walked into school that day with a mission.

Olympia had filled me in on their discovery, that it was Sam who sent that text to her all those weeks ago. I couldn't quite believe it at first, who would have thought that casual-sex-Sam who harassed me for a hook-up now and again would actually be jealous. It been left to me to talk to her as she'd be more likely to tell me the truth. Well that and Olympia didn't even know who she was, and Kat was geared up to 'rip out her fake hair extensions like Velcro'.

I strode through the school entrance, knowing full well where she'd be.  I found her perched on a chair in the common room, legs crossed below a ridiculously short skirt as she tapped away at her iPhone with a smirk.  I stood next to her but she hadn't yet noticed my presence.

"Is that the same phone you used to send a text to my girlfriend?"

Sam froze and looked up at me, eyes like a deer in headlights. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? So this doesn't ring any bells for you?" I whipped my phone out of my pocket and found the message Olympia had sent me a screenshot of, "Whatever you're doing to Rob, stop it. He doesn't need people like you in his life."

Sam visibly swallowed denial on the tip of her tongue, by now the room was silent, everyone watching us in interest. Joey, El, Dan, Olympia, Kat and Mel urged me on from the side-lines, El even sending me a thumbs up.

"You know Sam, I applaud you really, you even used the correct 'your'," she shot me a glare but didn't respond, "so now that it's all out in the open, why don't you apologise to Olympia and we can forget this ever happened, yeah? Heaven knows we'll have one less problem without you."

Sam stood up to face me, "You know I'm right, it's like she's put some sort of voodoo on you, you're not the same person."

I scoffed, "And what does that have to do with you? Did you ever think that maybe I'm a better person?"

She rolled her eyes, "The Rob I knew went to parties and drank and smoked, and talked to me." Sam even had the nerve to pout.

"Whatever, you and I both know that our conversations were kept to a minimum, I'm not even entirely sure what your last name is, so don't act like we discussed our hopes and dreams while you tried to grope me at parties after a few too many vodkas."

That got a few laughs but Sam didn't even blink. "And while we're at it," I continued, "what exactly did you mean by 'people like you'?"

Scoffing, Sam decided to enlighten me, "She's a nerd, goody-two-shoes, did you know her ex dumped her because she wouldn't put out?"

I heard a gasp and from the corner of my eye saw Dan holding Kat back while Mel put an arm around Olympia.

"He cheated on her." I defended, bringing up Chris was a low blow, even for Sam.

She simply peered at her nails, "Well, he's lucky I was there for him isn't he, gave him what he wanted." There was a gasp resounding through the room, Dan was having a hard time keeping Kat and her anger at bay but Olympia looked enraged, the fury seemed set to erupt from her. This was level of anger I'd never seen from her and, dare I say it, it was hot.

Wrong time Rob, wrong time.

Sam laughed, and it was an evil sound. Once upon a time I had thought Sam was attractive, I realised now that all that was underneath her layers of makeup and pettiness, were more layers of makeup and pettiness.

"Let's see if everyone else is interested to find out a little bit more about this golden couple, maybe they've noticed the fact you haven't been seen with a cigarette in hand for months? Or maybe that you spend more time with Olympia than with your friends? Even Joey was given the backseat in favour of her, and he was with you through everything that happened to your poor dad."

"Don't you dare talk about my dad." I warned her.

"We may never have had any deep and meaningful conversations, but certainly know a lot about you, Robert," Robert? Really? "I'm very observant. I know all about your little agreement, how Olympia would help you stop smoking because Mummy dearest wasn't happy about it, how you two made it look like a relationship so that you didn't have to face your friends with the humiliation, I even know about the kissing thing, which if I say so myself, is very clever."

The look on Sam's face was pure satisfaction, but all I saw was red. I squared up to her,  " don't act like you know anything about us, four months we've had this deal going and she means more to me than anyone else, you can say what you want and you can think what you want about us. You were right, it started off fake, it supposed to help me quit smoking and it has, I haven't wanted to smoke for weeks! And you know why, because I'm addicted to her, I don't need anything else! I don't need anyone else."

I pointed my finger to where Olympia had been and got a confused look from Sam, "You're addicted to Mel?"

"What?" I looked where I was pointing and saw no sign of Olympia, I was instead pointing at Mel who looked pityingly at me and my stomach dropped, my insides felt like stone. In the past minute I had laid all my feelings on the line, and she wasn't there to hear it, the one girl who mattered.

Sam peered at her nails in a bored fashion, "So the manwhore has feelings, I've got a lesson to get to, have fun with your girlfriend, or whatever she is."

I ran a hand through my hair, paying no attention to the people bustling around me, gathering their belongings and heading to their lessons. Mel came over to me with Joey, Dan and El in tow.

"She went to the toilets with Kat, it was either that or administer a well-deserved punch to Sam's face." Mel shrugged, "She went with the safer option."

I rubbed my hands up and down my face, as Dan patted me on the back. "Look at you, all grown up and falling in love."

I froze. "What?"

Dan looked around, unsure as to what he had said wrong, "I mean, you love her, right? Olympia? That's what that whole speech was about, you're in love."

I suddenly felt numb on the outside while the inside could feel everything, I played back the past few months in my mind; 

every word,

every smile, 

every laugh, 

every touch,

every kiss.

Olympia had been spot on when she'd said love was an addiction, it is, and it's far more dangerous than any cigarette. 

Hi!

So today we got over 500 reads! This update is to say thank you to all of you, it will probably be the last for a while because i have exams starting in a week! (Lucky me) The song is Jackie & Wilson by Hozier, I put it on because I've had it stuck in my head all week! Anyway, please vote and comment, tell me what you think, you can even inbox me if you'd like and i promise to reply:)

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