Undercover Badge; Next Generation

Chapter ten

CHAPTER TEN

Suffice to say, I was paranoid as hell. I kept the photos I'd been sent in my leather messenger bag. I don't know why, but that paranoia had manifested in my dress.

My hair was up in a preppy ponytail, and I'd taken the time to blow dry it, so the wild waves were tamed and smoothed the long trail that hung down my back. My jeans were tight and black but thin and comfortable for moving and I wore my silver studded black biker boots. For the first time in a while, I wore a shirt that fit. An emerald green v neck shirt that fit close to the skin and was cotton but had a little hood on the back.

"Well, don't we look super pretty today." Ingrid cried, meeting me at my locker. I smiled tightly and gave a choked laugh.
"You okay?" she asked. I wasn't sure whether or not to tell her. It was a difficult situation and she was Ingrid; pretty little dark haired Ingrid.
"Yeah, I just-" I stopped halfway through putting in my locker combination.
"I just didn't sleep well."

"You now, its really weird seeing you without the necklace."
"Yeah." I said, tiredly. "I know." And I pulled my locker door open.

There, another rose waited.

The color was a cross between a thick cream and a light gold, its tips dusted by a crest of scarlet, like red kissed lips. This one was bigger than the others, further in its rich bloom, its stem thicker. Further, this one had its thorns still attached. But I knew why. It was to hold onto the silver chain wrapped around the stem.

"Oh. My. God." Ingrid deadpanned.

I couldn't deal with this. I grabbed the rose and stomped down the hallway, my blood boiling in fury.
"Hey! Wait- oh shit. Hey, Reena, wait up." I could hear her stumble after me. I pulled the chain off the rose and somehow got it back around my neck one handed and couldn't resist the feeling of relief. The thorns cut into my palm.

There he was.

Joey was surrounded by the fruit flies of popularity.
"Joey." I hissed. He raised both eyes to me, then to the rose. For a moment I swear I saw fear- terror- dance through the widening of his eyes and paling of his skin. I marched up to him and I could hear Ingrid tripping around behind me.

"What the hell is this?" I snarled, shoving the rose in his face. He panicked, I could see it in the way his eyes darted to the fruit flies who had gone from buzzing nats to wide-eyed open-eared flies on the wall. His expression went dark and he grabbed a hold of my upper arm.

I realized that in comparing him to his older brother, I'd begun to underestimate his size. The boy was an easy six foot over my five feet six and a half inches. He was also big- not like his brother, but he was a football player. And he was eighteen. I'd been seeing him as a boy, but Joey was every bit a man as his brother. I wondered if that was where Joey's obvious issues with his Matthew came from.

He pulled hard, fingers digging into my bicep, using his strength to pull me into a classroom and slam the door behind him.
"Look." he growled, turning around and glaring at me, crossing his arms not unlike his brother. He was stood between me and the door.
"I'm not interested in being the messenger boy for your stupid little lovers tiff." I had no idea what he was talking about but my mind was going a million miles an hour. Had he done the pictures? Was this getting back at me for being suspended? Was he trying to make me loose my mind?
"What?" I deadpanned flatly, brain whirring.
"Look, I don't give a shit about any of this. You cant be running up to me shoving that in my face." he turned to leave. Fat chance. I dug my nails into his shoulder and spun him back.
"What. The hell. Are you talking about?" I snapped.
He looked at me like I needed a cone on my head reading 'Dunce.'
"My brother's stupid roses." he said, and indicated the flower.
"Your brother? What brother?" Joey had another brother?
"Matthew. What are you, retarded? Look, bitch, I really don't care."
Matthew?